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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/tenttestamentcamOOrixh 


“/  pity  the  man  who  can  travel  from  Dan 
to  Beersheba ,  and  cry ,  ’ Tis  all  barren 

Sterne 


MOUNTAINS  OF  SAMARIA  AND  THE  PLAIN  OF  ESDRAELON  (see  p.  48) 

From  a  sketch  by  the  Author 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 

A  CAMPING  TOUR  IN  PALESTINE 

WITH  SOME  NOTES  ON  SCRIPTURE  SITES 


BY 

HERBERT  RIX,  B.A. 


NEW  YORK  :  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
LONDON:  WILLIAMS  AND  NORGATE 

1907 


PREFACE 


The  tour  which  is  recorded  in  this  book  followed  in 
part  the  hackneyed  tourist  route  ;  in  part  a  route 
which  is  seldom  taken.  It  is  hoped  that  each  may 
have  its  own  interest. 

The  average  tourist  who  arrives  in  Jerusalem  finds 
himself  in  the  midst  of  perplexity.  He  is  confronted 
by  two  or  more  sites  for  most  biblical  scenes.  Two 
Zions,  two  Temple  areas,  two  Bethanys,  two  Geth- 
semanes,  two  or  more  Calvarys,  three  Holy  Sepul¬ 
chres,  several  Bethesdas,  put  in  their  claims  for  his 
veneration.  And  it  is  the  same  throughout  his  tour  : 
there  are  two  Bethlehems,  two  Capernaums,  two 
Sychars,  four  Jerichos,  and  so  on.  Some  attempt  is 
made  here  to  discriminate  between  the  true  and  the 
false  in  respect  of  the  Bible  places  which  are  visited 
by  most  pilgrims  to  Palestine. 

For  the  rest,  the  detours  to  Bethlehem  of 
Zebulon  and  to  Chorazin,  and  the  journey  down 
the  Ghor,  with  visits  to  Gadara  and  Pella,  may 
interest  those  who  have  not  left  the  beaten  track  and 
the  Bible  student  in  general. 

The  narrative  is  in  some  respects  belated.  The 
tour  was  taken  five  years  ago,  and,  though  the  notes 
were  written  out  in  full  immediately  upon  return,  the 


VI 


PREFACE 


publication,  with  the  results  of  subsequent  study,  has 
been  delayed  partly  by  an  active  life,  partly  by  illness. 
The  “  Unchangeable  East  ”  has  not,  however,  essen¬ 
tially  altered  since  then.  So  far  as  the  tourist  is 
concerned,  the  main  alterations  are  the  completion 
of  the  northern  road  from  Jerusalem  as  far  as  Sinjil, 
and  the  establishment  of  hotels  at  Nablus  and  Jenin. 
The  opening  of  the  railway  from  Haifa  to  Semakh 
does  not  help  the  average  tourist  :  it  is  intended  for 
and  will  be  chiefly  used  by  Mohammedan  pilgrims. 
The  suffering  from  drought,  which  occurred  during 
my  visit  to  Jerusalem,  led  to  an  attempt  to  lay  on 
water  from  Solomons  Pools,  and  a  feeble  stream  now 
arrives  in  the  Haram  esh-Sherif,  but  it  is  available 
only  for  Moslems,  and,  since  the  pipes  are  laid  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  it  arrives  hot.  Besides  these 
“  improvements,”  I  do  not  know  that  any  change 
remains  to  be  noted  which  would  alter  the  record  if 
the  tour  had  been  taken  this  year. 


PUBLISHERS  NOTE 

Mr.  Rix  died  on  October  io,  1906,  while  this  book 
was  in  the  press. 

We  have  e?ideavoured  to  make  it  accord  in  all  respects 
with  the  Author’s  wishes ,  and  we  are  greatly  indebted 
to  those  of  his  friends  who  have  assisted  us  in  the 
attempt. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  Jaffa . i 

II.  From  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem . 6 

III.  From  Jerusalem  to  Bethel . n 

IV.  From  Bethel  through  Shiloh  to  Huwara  .  16 

V.  From  Huwara  to  Jacob’s  Well  and  Shechem  .  24 

VI.  From  Shechem  to  Samaria . 33 

VII.  From  Samaria  through  Dothan  to  Jenin  .  .  37 

VIII.  From  Jenin  through  Nain  to  Nazareth  .  .  41 

IX.  An  Excursion  to  Bethlehem  of  Galilee  .  .  46 

X.  A  Sunday  in  Nazareth . 50 

XI.  From  Nazareth  to  Tiberias . 56 

XII.  Across  the  Sea  of  Galilee  to  Kersa  .  .  .  62 

XIII.  A  Coasting-trip  in  Search  of  Bethsaida  .  .  68 

XIV.  From  Tiberias  through  Gennesaret  to  Tell 

Hum . 74 

XV.  From  Tell  Hum  through  Chorazin  to  Safed  .  81 

XVI.  From  Safed  to  el-Khalisah . 87 

XVII.  From  el-Khalisah,  by  the  Springs  of  Jordan, 

to  Mejdel  esh-Shems . 93 

XVIII.  On  Mount  Hermon . 100 

XIX.  Back  to  Caesarea  Philippi . 104 

XX.  From  Caesarea  Philippi  to  Gennesaret  .  .  109 

XXI.  Round  about  Capernaum . 114 

XXII.  Two  Days  in  Tiberias . 121 

XXIII.  From  Tiberias  to  Gadara . 128 

XXIV.  From  Gadara  to  Pella . 140 

XXV.  From  Pella  to  Scythopolis . 150 


Vlll 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

XXVI.  From  Scythopolis  by  Thebez  to  Jerusalem  .  156 

XXVII.  Jerusalem — Calvary  and  the  Tomb  .  .  .  161 

XXVIII.  An  Excursion  to  Jericho . 166 

XXIX.  From  Jericho  to  Beth-Nimrah  and  Back  .  .  173 

XXX.  The  Return  to  Jerusalem  —  The  Garden  of 

Gethsemane . 183 

XXXI.  A  Drive  to  Bethlehem . 188 

XXXII.  A  Drive  to  Hebron . 195 

XXXIII.  Jerusalem — In  Search  of  Bethesda  .  .  .  202 

XXXIV.  Jerusalem — The  Temple  Walls  ....  217 

XXXV.  Jerusalem — The  Temple  Area  ....  224 

XXXVI.  Jerusalem — The  Holy  Fire . 237 


XXXVII.  Jerusalem  —  Conder’s  Sepulchre.  —  An  Adven 


TURE  AT  THE  VIRGIN’S  WELL  ....  24I 

XXXVIII.  A  Drive  to  Bethany  ...  .  .  246 

XXXIX.  A  Walk  through  Jerusalem  .....  249 

XL.  Farewell . 253 


APPENDIX 

A.  The  Nazareth  Question . 255 

B.  The  Bethlehem  Question . 257 

C-  The  Bethsaida  Question . .  .  265 

D.  The  Capernaum  Question  .......  274 

E.  The  Bethesda  Question  .......  298 

F.  The  Site  of  Herod’s  Temple . 300 

Index . 305 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

To  face 

fig.  page 

Mountains  of  Samaria  and  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon  Frontispiece 

1.  Our  Dragoman . 14 

2.  Our  Muleteers  ....  ......  14 

3.  The  Well  at  Shiloh  .  .  26 

4.  Jacob’s  Well . 26 

5.  Resting  Place  on  Mount  Gerizim  .  ...  44 

6.  Tomb  at  Nain  . . 44 

7.  Greek  Church  at  Nazareth . 50 

8.  St.  Mary’s  Well  at  Nazareth  .......  50 

9.  The  Old  Mosque,  Tiberias  .......  60 

10.  The  Sheikh  of  Gergesa .  60 

11.  Khan  Minyeh  and  Ain  et-Tin,  Gennesaret  ....  76 

12.  Ain  T&bigha  :  The  Octagonal  Enclosure  .  .  .  -76 

13.  Ruins  of  Chorazin . 82 

14.  Ruins  of  Synagogue :  Chorazin  ......  82 

15.  Bedawin  of  Ain  Belata  .......  88 

16.  Bridge  of  el-Ghajar  .........  88 

17.  The  Infant  Jordan  .........  94 

18.  Near  Caesarea  Philippi  ........  94 

19.  Caesarea  Philippi :  The  Castle  Gate  from  the  Bridge  .  .  104 

20.  Caesarea  Philippi:  The  Castle  Gate  from  Within  .  .  104 

21.  The  Village  of  B&niy&s,  built  from  the  stones  of  Caesarea 

Philippi  ..........  106 

22.  Summer  Houses  on  the  Roofs  of  Baniyas  ....  106 

23.  Caesarea  Philippi :  The  Cave  of  Pan . 108 

24.  Caesarea  Philippi :  The  Source  of  the  Jordan  ....  108 

25.  Bedawi  Village :  Plain  of  Huleh . .  no 

26.  Fishing  Bedawin  of  Lake  Huleh . no 

27.  Tiberias:  Jewesses  preparing  for  the  Passover  .  .  .  126 

28.  Tiberias:  Jewesses  preparing  for  the  Passover  .  .  .  126 

29.  Outflow  of  the  Jordan  at  Kerak . 128 


X 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


To  face 

fig.  pare 

30.  Crossing  the  Jordan  at  Kerak . 128 

31.  Western  Theatre  at  Gadara  .  136 

32.  Theatre  at  Gadara:  The  Corridors  .  .  .  .  .  -136 

33.  Ghawarineh  Boy  .........  140 

34.  Ghawarineh  Boy  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .140 

35.  Coin  Struck  at  Tiberias . 142 

36.  Valley  of  el- Waggas . 142 

37.  Pella:  The  Terrace . 142 

38.  Pella:  The  Wadi  el-Jirm  ........  148 

39.  Pella:  Temple  Ruins . 148 

40.  Conder’s  “  Bethabara  ” . 152 

41  Bedawin  Women  by  Jordan  .  .  .  .  .  .  .152 

42.  Natives  of  Thebez  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .158 

43  Thebez:  Driving  Home  the  Cattle  ......  158 

44.  ‘‘  Gordon’s”  Calvary  .  ........  162 

45.  Gordon’s”  Sepulchre  ........  162 

46.  Shore  and  Bottom  of  Prehistoric  Jordan  Lake  .  .  -174 

47.  Ford  of  Nimrin  (Bethabara  ?) . 174 

48.  Tell  Nimrin  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .176 

49.  The  Jordan  near  the  Mouth  of  Wadi  Nimrin  ....  176 

50.  Pilgrims  to  the  Tomb  of  Moses . 182 

51.  Pools  of  Solomon  :  The  Middle  Pool . 182 

52.  Upper  Pool  of  Hebron  ........  198 

53.  Pool  of  Hezekiah . 198 

54.  Entrance  to  the  Virgin’s  Spring  .*....  208 

55.  Hezekiah’s  Conduit  . . .  208 

56.  The  Old  Pool  . . .  212 

57.  The  Pool  of  Siloam . 212 

58.  The  Jews’  Wailing  Place  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .218 

59.  Jewesses  at  the  Wailing  Place  • . 218 

60.  The  Haram  esh-Sherif.  N.W.  Angle . 224 

61.  The  Dome  of  the  Rock  ........  224 

62.  “  Conder’s  ”  Sepulchre  . . 242 

63.  The  Village  of  Siloam . 242 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


WORKS  REFERRED  TO 

Besant,  Sir  W.,  and  Palmer,  E.  H.,  “Jerusalem,  the 
City  of  Herod  and  Saladin,”  1888 

Burton,  Sir  R.,  “Pilgrimage  to  Al-Madinah  and 
Meccah  ” 

Conder,  C.  R.,  “Tent-Work  in  Palestine,” 6th edition, 

1895 

Curtis,  W.  E.,  “To-day  in  Syria  and  Palestine,” 
Chicago,  1904 

“  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,”  Hastings,  1898 

“  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,”  Sir  W.  Smith,  and  Rev. 
J.  M.  Fuller,  2nd  edition,  1893 

Doane,  T.  W.,  “Bible  Myths  and  their  Parallels  in 
other  Religions,”  4th  edition,  1882 

“  Encyclopaedia  Biblica,”  4  vols.,  1899-1903 
“  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,”  9th  edition 

Edersheim,  Alfred,  “The  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus, 
the  Messiah,”  9th  edition,  1897 

Edersheim,  Alfred,  “  Sketches  of  Jewish  Life  ” 

Finn,  James,  “  Byeways  in  Palestine,”  1868 

Guerin,  M.  V.,  “  Description  De  La  Palestine,”  Tome  I. 
(Galil6e) 

Hausrath,  Adolf,  “  A  History  of  the  New  Testament 
Times — The  Time  of  Jesus,”  translated  from 
2nd  German  edition,  1878 

Hausrath,  “Time  of  the  Apostles,”  1895 


ABBREVIATIONS 

USED 


Tent-  Work 


Hastings ,  D.B. 
Smith ,  D.B 

Encycl.  Bibl. 
Encycl.  Brit. 


Hausrath , 
Time  of  Jesus 
Hausrath , 

T ime  of  the 
Apostles 


“  Hibbert  Journal,  The,”  Vol.  II.,  1904 


Xll 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


WORKS  REFERRED  TO 

Hull,  E.,  “  The  Survey  of  Western  Palestine.”  “  Me¬ 
moirs  on  the  Geology  and  Physical  Geography” 

Josephus,  Flavius,  The  Works  of.  Translated  by  W. 
Whiston,  1843 

“  Kernel,  The,  and  the  Husk,”  by  the  Author  of 
“  Philo-Christus,'"3  1886 

Keim,  Theodor,  “The  History  of  Jesus  of  Nazara.” 
Translated  by  Arthur  Ransom,  2nd  edition,  1876 

King,  Rev.  J.,  “  Recent  Discoveries  on  the  Temple 
Hill  at  Jerusalem,”  1884 

Lees,  Rev.  G.  R.,  “Jerusalem  and  Its  People,”  2nd 
edition 

Le  Strange,  Guy,  “  Palestine  under  the  Moslems,” 
1890 

Le  Strange,  Guy,  “  A  Ride  through  Ajlun  ” 

Macgregor,  J.,  “The  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  2nd 
edition,  1870 

Merrill,  Selah,  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  2nd  edition,  1870 

Neander,  A.,  “  General  Church  History,”  2nd  edition. 
Translated  by  J.  Torrey,  1847 

Okakura,  Kakasu,  “  Ideals  of  the  East  ” 

Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  Memoirs.  4to 

Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  Quarterly  Statement. 
8vo 

“  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes.3’  Fol.  1625 

Ramsay,  W.  M.,  “Was  Christ  Born  in  Bethlehem  ? 33 
2nd  edition 

Robinson,  E.,  and  E.  Smith,  “  Biblical  Researches  in 
Palestine,”  1841 

Robinson,  E.,  and  E.  Smith,  and  others,  “  Later 
Biblical  Researches  in  Palestine,”  1856 

Sanday,  Prof.  W.,  “  Sacred  Sites  of  the  Gospels,”  1903 
Schumacher,  G.,  “Northern  Ajlun  ” 

Schumacher,  G.,  “  Pella,”  1889 

Smith,  Geo.  Adam,  “  Historical  Geography  of  the 
Holy  Land,”  1894 

Smith,  W.  Robertson,  “  Lectures  on  the  Religion  of 
the  Semites.”  First  Series.  2nd  edition,  1894 


ABBREVIATION 

USED 


P.E.F.  Mem. 
P.E.F.Q.S. 


Sacred  Sites 

Smith ,  Hist.Geog. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


xm 


WORKS  REFERRED  TO 

Stanley,  Arthur  P.  (Dean),  “  Sinai  and  Palestine,” 
1883 

Stapfer,  Edmond,  “  La  Palestine  au  Temps  de  Jesus- 
Christ.”  6me  edition 

Stapfer,  Edmond,  “  Palestine  in  the  Time  of  Christ.” 
Translated  by  A.  H.  Holmden,  1886 

Thomson,  W.  M.,  “The  Land  and  the  Book,”  1866 

Tristram,  H.  B.,  “The  Land  of  Israel,”  3rd  edition, 
1876 

Tristram,  H.  B.,  “The  Natural  History  of  the  Bible,” 
gth  edition,  1898 

Wilson,  Sir  C.  W.,  and  Sir  C.  Warren,  “  The  Recovery 
of  Jerusalem,”  1871 

Wilson,  John,  “The  Lands  of  the  Bible  Visited  and 
Described,”  1847 


ABBREVIATIONS 

USED 


Nat.  Hist.  Bib. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


CHAPTER  I 

JAFFA 

After  a  leisurely  journey  across  Europe,  and  a  glimpse  of 
Egypt,  we  (myself  and  a  friend)  anchored  off  Jaffa  on  Friday, 
March  8.  The  vessel  in  which  we  had  sailed  from  Port  Said 
was  a  Russian.  Apparently  she  had  no  keel  to  speak  of,  for, 
although  the  sea  was  calm,  she  rolled  prodigiously.  Every 
one  spent  the  night  in  more  or  less  of  misery,  which  was 
much  increased  by  the  fact  that  no  one  belonging  to  the  ship, 
not  even  the  captain,  nor,  alas,  the  steward,  spoke  a  word  of 
anything  but  Russian.  One  passenger,  fortunately,  could 
speak  modern  Greek,  and  by  means  of  this  he  made  the 
officers  understand  a  little  of  our  wants,  and  so  we  managed 
to  endure  the  long  hours  in  which  we  bored  our  way  cork¬ 
screw  fashion  through  the  dark  waters.  When  at  length  we 
anchored  outside  the  reef  we  learned  to  our  dismay  that  the 
surf  was  too  heavy  for  the  boats  to  put  off. 

All  that  weary  day  we  swung  and  rolled  and  bobbed 
about  in  the  smooth,  heaving  swell,  the  ship  never  still  for 
a  moment,  the  passengers  mostly  on  their  backs.  Evening 
came,  and  still  the  ocean  heaved  and  the  reef  foamed.  For 
twenty-four  hours  we  endured  that  curvilinear  motion  in 
many  planes  ;  and  then,  oh,  joy  !  in  the  cold  dawn  of  the 
second  day  the  boats  came  threading  the  reef  to  our  rescue, 
and  a  shout  of  relief  went  up  from  the  travellers  who 
crowded  the  deck. 

We  landed  at  about  7.30  a.m.  and  found  our  dragoman 


2 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


awaiting  us.  His  Christian  name  was  Hanna,  which  being 
interpreted  means  John  ;  a  strong,  stout,  good-looking 
fellow,  dressed  in  Syrian  costume,  cool  and  composed  in 
manner,  and  speaking  good  English.  He  was  a  Christian, 
and  a  resident  in  this  town  of  Jaffa. 

One’s  first  impression  of  Jaffa  is  that  of  a  place  of  unmiti¬ 
gated  glare,  with  roads  ankle-deep  in  dust.  But  this 
impression  is  soon  lost  in  admiration  for  the  beauty  and 
luxuriance  of  the  surroundings  seen  from  any  point  of 
vantage.  The  view  from  the  minaret  of  the  Greek  church, 
which  was  the  first  sight  that  Hanna  took  us  to  see,  is  very 
lovely.  Below  and  around  us  was  one  dense  mass  of  foliage, 
the  greater  part  that  of  orange-groves  upon  which  the  fruit 
hung  golden.  Among  the  orange-trees  were  pomegranates, 
not  yet  in  leaf,  bananas,  blossoming  almonds,  and,  rising  tall 
and  stately  amid  the  general  mass,  palms,  which  reared  their 
feathery  heads  and  gazed  abroad  over  the  blue  waters  of  the 
Mediterranean.  To  the  north-east  rose  the  hills  of  Judaea 
and  Samaria,  and  south-eastward  the  high  plateau  between 
Jerusalem  and  Hebron.  These  heights  were  all  dim  with  a 
blue  heat-mist ;  Carmel  and  Gaza  were  still  shrouded  by  it. 
Enough,  however,  we  could  see  to  enable  us  to  realise,  at 
length,  what  had  been  at  first  so  difficult  to  believe,  that  we 
were  indeed  in  the  Holy  Land. 

This  church  of  the  Greek  Christians  is  built  in  honour  of 
Dorcas,  whose  tomb  is  supposed  to  be  in  the  adjoining 
burial-ground.  We  did  not  care  to  visit  it,  but  drove  at  once 
to  the  traditional  house  of  Simon  the  Tanner.  In  Dean 
Stanley’s  time  the  site  of  Simon’s  house  was  shown  near  the 
Latin  convent  ;  but  it  has  shifted  since  then,  and  is  now 
shown  half  a  mile  away,  to  the  south  of  the  town  :  there  is 
little  reason  to  suppose  that  either  site  is  the  true  one.  Dean 
Stanley,  it  is  true,  regards  the  former  as  “  one  of  the  few 
localities  which  can  claim  to  represent  an  historical  scene  of 
the  New  Testament”  ;  but  the  most  that  Canon  Cheynecan 
say  for  the  long  note  in  which  Stanley  maintains  this  posi¬ 
tion*  is  that  it  “is  at  least  eloquent  and  chivalrous.”!  On 
the  whole,  the  archaeology  of  Jaffa  may  be  summed  up  in 
the  three  words  used  by  the  Canon  in  the  article  just 
quoted  :  “  Antiquities  are  wanting.” 

But  although  there  are  no  antiquities,  and  ancient  sites 
are  more  than  uncertain,  we  may  to  some  extent  console 

*  “Sinai  and  Palestine,”  p.  274. 

“  Encycl.  Bibl.”  art.  “  Joppa.” 


JAFFA  3 

ourselves  with  the  reflection  that  there  is  no  doubt  about 
the  situation  of  the  town  itself.  Jaffa  or  Yafa,  as  the  natives 
call  it,  corresponds  to  the  ancient  Joppa.  It  was  in  these 
blue  waters  that  the  cedars  were  floated  for  the  building  of  the 
Temple  ;  and  in  the  offing  yonder  that  the  miserable  act  of 
treachery  took  place,  in  the  days  of  Judas  Maccabaeus,  when 
the  men  of  Joppa  “  invited  the  Jews  who  dwelt  among  them 
to  go  with  their  wives  and  children  into  the  boats  which 
they  had  provided,”  and  then  “  took  them  out  to  sea  and 
drowned  them  in  number  not  less  than  two  hundred.”  * 
Here  stood  the  city  which  Jonathan  Maccabaeus  besieged 
and  took,  and  which  went  through  such  troubled  times 
during  the  Maccabaean  Wars.  Here  stood  the  later  city 
which  Pompey  built  and  gave  to  Syria,  which  Caesar 
restored  to  the  Jews,  which  Herod  seized,  and  which 
Cestius  plundered  and  burnt  in  the  Jewish  War.  And, 
coming  to  later  times,  it  was  here  that  Richard  Coeur  de 
Lion  fought  the  Saracens ;  and  it  was  on  that  strip  of 
beach,  where  the  surf  is  now  breaking  so  white,  that 
Napoleon,  called  “the  Great,”  shot  in  cold  blood  two 
thousand  prisoners  whom  he  could  not  feed  and  would 
not  release. 

There  is,  moreover,  much  that  interests  in  the  life  which 
to-day  crowds  the  streets  and  roads.  Here  come  long 
processions  of  camels  loaded  with  mountains  of  empty 
orange-boxes  going  to  the  gardens  to  be  packed  for  Europe. 
Here,  up  this  narrow  court,  is  a  bare- legged  boy  drawing 
water  from  a  well,  in  a  bucket  made  of  a  roughly  stitched 
piece  of  goat-skin.  The  stone  edge  of  the  well  is  worn 
with  deep  grooves  where  the  ropes  have  rubbed  for  many 
generations.  Possibly  this  may  be  the  very  well  which 
supplied  water  for  Simon's  tannery  :  who  knows  ?  The 
bazaars,  too,  are  picturesque.  The  shops  are  dark,  shadowy 
recesses  without  shop-front  or  screen :  inside  squat  the 
shopkeepers  smoking  their  pipes.  Along  the  narrow  lane 
between  these  stalls,  crowds  of  picturesque  figures  pass  to 
and  fro,  old  men  in  turbans  riding  brisk  little  donkeys ; 
youths  in  long  cotton  gowns  girded  at  the  waist ;  women 
with  their  faces  veiled,  not  as  in  Egypt  merely  from  the 
eyes  downward,  but  with  the  countenance  completely 
covered. 

Perhaps,  after  all,  the  most  interesting  thing  about  Joppa 
is  the  variety  of  myth  connected  with  it,  in  which  variety 

*  2  Mac.  xii.  3,  4. 


4 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


there  is,  moreover,  a  very  interesting  unity.  I  am  reminded 
of  it  by  the  appearance  of  the  reef  as  it  is  seen  from  the 
shore.  One  cannot  but  note  the  likeness  of  the  long  line  of 
rocky  spikes,  standing  up  so  abruptly  from  the  water,  to 
the  backbone  of  some  great  fish  whose  skeleton  has  been 
stranded  in  the  shallow  surf  ;  and  I  have  wondered  whether 
that  reef  was  not  in  fact  the  skeleton  of  the  sea-monster 
which  was  shown  at  Joppa  until  about  60  B.c.  as  that  of  the 
creature  from  whose  jaws  Andromeda  was  rescued  by 
Perseus  ;  though,  if  it  is  true  that  Marcus  Scaurus,  Pompey's 
general,  carried  the  skeleton  to  Rome,  that  cannot  be,  for 
there  it  still  is. 

The  myth  of  the  great  Joppa  fish  is  threefold.  First  you 
have  the  myth  of  Jonah  :  for,  it  was  from  Joppa  that  Jonah 
took  ship  for  Tarshish,  when  the  storm  arose  and  he  was 
cast  into  the  sea,  to  be  swallowed  by  “  the  great  fish  which 
the  Lord  had  prepared.”  Next  you  have  the  Greek  tale  of 
Heracles,  rescuing  Hesione  from  the  sea-monster  at  Joppa 
by  leaping  into  its  jaws  and  tearing  its  entrails  for  three 
days  and  three  nights.  And,  thirdly,  you  have  the  story 
of  Perseus  rescuing  Andromeda,  the  daughter  of  Cepheus 
and  Joppa,  who  was  chained  to  the  rocks  at  a  place  of  the 
latter  name.* 

As  to  these  three  myths  folklorists  seem  pretty  well 
agreed  that  they  are  variations  of  the  same  idea — that  of  the 
sun  being  swallowed  up  by  the  earth  (or  sea)  and  vomited 
forth  again  in  the  morning — a  cross-current  of  another  cycle 
coming  in,  from  the  observation  of  the  winter  solstice,  when 
the  sun  remains  in  the  lowest  regions  for  three  days  and 
three  nights  from  December  22  to  25. 

But  this  does  not  of  itself  explain  why  all  three  myths 
should  be  localised  at  Joppa.  To  explain  this  we  must 
remember  that  Joppa  was  originally  a  Phoenician  colony  in 
Philistine  territory,  and  that  the  particular  legend  of  Heracles 
given  above  is  of  Phoenician  origin.  Also,  in  the  neighbour¬ 
ing  Philistine  country  Dagon  was  worshipped,  who  was 
represented  as  a  man  emerging  from  a  fish's  mouth,  being 
in  fact  a  symbol  of  that  same  solar  myth  which  is  represented 
by  the  stories  of  Heracles  and  Perseus  ;  while  Jonah  is 
said  to  be  no  other  than  Oannes,  the  Chaldean  fish-god, 
who  is  one  with  the  Philistine  Dagon.  Whoso  meditates 

*  According  to  Josephus  “the  chains  wherewith  Andromeda  was 
bound  have  left  their  marks”  on  the  rocks  here  (“Jewish  Wars,” 
ifi.  ix.  3),  and  Pliny  says  the  same. 


JAFFA  5 

on  these  cognate  facts  will  not  find  it  hard  to  see  how 
Joppa  may  have  come  to  be  the  scene  of  these  strange 
adventures.* 

*  See  Doane’s  “  Bible  Myths,”  p.  77,  et  seq.  ;  “  Encycl.  Bibl.”  art. 
“  J°PPa  ”  »  Smith’s  D.B.  art.  “Joppa,”  &c.  We  have  also  to  take  into 
account  the  widespread  association  of  dragons  with  the  movement  of 
waters.  The  rising  and  falling  of  the  intermittent  spring  at  Jerusalem 
known  as  St.  Mary’s  Well  are  accounted  for  by  the  natives  by  a  hypo¬ 
thetical  dragon,  who  is  believed  to  swallow  the  waters  and  vomit  them 
forth  again  at  regular  intervals.  The  special  liveliness  of  the  sea  at 
Joppa,  where  the  Mediterranean  swell  is  churned  into  foam  by  the 
remarkable  reef  at  that  place,  would,  therefore,  go  to  confirm  the 
connection  between  Joppa  and  sea-monsters.  (See  “  Encycl.  Bibl.” 
arts.  “  Dragon  ”  and  “  Joppa.”) 


CHAPTER  II 

JAFFA  TO  JERUSALEM 

There  was  no  need  to  linger  in  Jaffa,  and  at  mid-day  we 
took  train  to  Jerusalem  by  the  one  little  bit  of  railway  which 
up  to  the  time  of  our  visit  had  invaded  Palestine.*  It  is  a 
line  of  about  fifty  miles,  with  one  train  a  day  each  way, 
which  accomplishes  the  journey  in  something  under  four 
hours. 

The  line  runs  first  through  the  plain  of  Sharon,  a  district 
of  wonderfully  rich  and  deep  soil.  Along  the  shore  a  great 
deal  of  this  rich  land  has  been  lost  beneath  the  drifting 
sand,  which  has  accumulated  to  the  depth  of  a  couple  of 
feet  or  more.  A  little  energy  in  planting  tamarisk  and  other 
bushes  might  rescue  some  thousands  of  acres  which  are 
otherwise  doomed.  At  present,  however,  there  is  a  vast 
extent  of  fertile  soil  remaining.  In  two  or  three  places  I 
noticed  excavations  near  the  line,  which  showed  a  depth  of 
ten  feet  or  more  of  pure  loam.  The  scriptural  “  Rose  of 
Sharon/'  by  the  by,  is  said  to  be  the  Polyanthus  narcissus 
(Narcissus  tazetta ),  which  grows  both  upon  the  plains  and 
hills  of  this  district,  a  flower  of  which  Orientals  are  passion¬ 
ately  fond.  “  While  it  is  in  flower,"  says  Canon  Tristram, 
“it  is  to  be  seen  in  all  the  bazaars,  and  the  men  as  well  as 
the  women  at  that  season  always  carry  two  or  three  blossoms 
at  which  they  are  continually  smelling." 

The  train  passes  between  large  plantations  of  orange- 
trees  ;  then  through  cornfields,  the  blades  of  wheat  standing, 
on  this  ninth  day  of  March,  eight  or  ten  inches  high,  very  rich 
and  glossy.  In  the  distance  we  could  see  the  small  square 
watch-towers  along  the  Jerusalem  road.  “  Before  the  railway 
was  made,"  said  Hanna,  “two  soldiers  were  put  in  each 

*  A  branch  of  the  Hejaz  line,  from  Haifa,  is  in  course  of  con¬ 
struction,  but  is  still  (1906)  far  from  completion.  The  Southern 
extension  of  the  Damascus-Beyrout  Railway  is  now  carried  as  far  as 
Mezerib,  and  a  Turkish  railway  has  been  built  from  Damascus  to  Akaba. 


7 


JAFFA  TO  JERUSALEM 

tower  to  guard  the  road,  but  there  is  now  much  less  traffic 
by  road,  and  the  towers  have  no  guard  in  them.”  On  the 
right  of  the  line  Hanna  pointed  out  the  village  of  Beit- 
Dejan — the  ancient  Beth-Dagon  (Josh.  xv.  41).  It  stands 
on  the  border  of  Philistia.  And  on  the  same  side  there 
presently  came  into  sight  the  Tower  of  Ramleh,  near  the 
old  Saracenic  and  Crusading  city  of  that  name. 

Then  we  passed  through  the  olive-plantations  of  Lydda, 
enclosed  by  hedges  of  prickly  pear,  and  I  knew  that  away 
to  the  left  lay  Modein,  where  the  Maccabaean  revolt  took  its 
rise,  where  Mattathias  hewed  down  the  false  priest  who 
sacrificed  to  idols,  and  where  the  Maccabees  are  buried. 
On  our  right  Ekron  was  pointed  out,  and  then  the  train 
began  to  climb  through  the  harsh  and  stony  land  of  Judaea, 
the  maritime  plain  being  left  behind.  Past  “  Samson's 
Cave  ”  the  engine  panted,  toiling  up  a  narrow  chasm  in  the 
limestone,  where  we  got  our  first  impression  of  the  wadis  of 
Palestine.  Here,  too,  we  saw  our  first  jackals,  of  which  we 
were  to  have  experience  in  plenty  before  our  tour  was 
done. 

We  arrived  at  Jerusalem  at  five  o'clock  or  thereabouts, 
and  were  straightway  whirled  off  to  the  hotel  in  one  of  the 
open  carriages  drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses,  which  here  fulfil 
the  office  of  the  London  cab.  People  say  that  Jerusalem  is 
disappointing,  especially  when  approached  from  the  western 
side.  I  can  only  say  that  I  did  not  find  it  so.  To  me  it  was 
forthwith  entirely  fascinating ;  so  picturesque,  so  venerable, 
so  crowded  with  strange  half-civilised  life,  so  full  of 
historical  and  sacred  interest !  In  particular  I  found  it 
more  obviously  biblical  than  I  had  expected.  Here  were 
the  blind,  the  lame,  the  lepers,  the  camels  passing  through 
the  city  gates,  the  peasants  riding  on  their  asses.  It  hardly 
needed  interpreting ;  the  past  was  brought  to  life.  As 
I  sat  in  my  room  and  looked  from  the  window  at  the 
“  Tower  of  David”  and  a  narrow  perspective  of  grey  walls 
beyond,  and  knew  that  at  last  my  eyes  actually  beheld  the 
Holy  City,  there  came  one  of  those  rare  moments  of  life 
when  the  ideal  is  fulfilled  and  the  mind  rests  in  perfect 
content. 

I  was  fortunate  in  being  the  bearer  of  a  letter  of  intro¬ 
duction  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Merrill,  the  United  States  Consul  in 
Jerusalem,  and  the  learned  author  of  several  works  on 
Palestine.  Many  were  the  kindnesses  which  he  wrought  us 
during  our  stay  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  very  valuable  was 


8 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  information  which  he  afforded  us.  On  Sunday  morning, 
being  the  day  after  our  arrival,  the  kind  doctor  took  us  on 
the  roof  of  our  hotel  and  indicated  the  points  of  interest  in 
the  bird’s-eye  view  of  the  city  which  is  thence  obtained. 
The  “  Grand  New  Hotel  "  in  which  we  were  staying  is  close 
to  the  Jaffa  Gate,  in  the  middle  of  the  western  wall.  As 
you  face  eastward  the  high  ground,  on  which  of  old 
stood  the  Upper  City,  lies  in  the  near  foreground  and 
stretches  away  to  your  right.  This,  in  the  time  of  Christ, 
was  the  aristocratic  and  wealthy  quarter  of  the  town.  It  is 
now  erroneously  known  as  “  Zion,"  a  designation  which 
causes  much  confusion  in  the  minds  of  tourists.  On  your 
left  are  the  two  domes  belonging  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  and  straight  before  you,  at  the  further  boundary 
of  the  city,  stands  forth  the  Dome  of  the  Rock,  in  the  old 
Temple  Area,  situated  on  the  true  “Zion"  of  the  Psalms. 
Beyond  this  rises  the  Mount  of  Olives,  very  sadly  disfigured 
of  late  by  the  buildings  which  have  multiplied  upon  its 
sacred  soil,  and,  back  of  all,  stretches  the  purple  wall  of 
Moab,  a  huge  straight-ridged  mountain-barrier,  looking 
strangely  near,  though  it  is  thirty  or  five-and-thirty  miles  away. 

Dean  Stanley  *  seems  to  find  some  difficulty  in  justifying 
the  Psalmist’s  simile,  “  As  the  mountains  are  round  about 
Jerusalem,  so  is  the  Lord  round  about  his  people."  He  is 
tempted  to  refer  it  to  the  mountain-barrier  on  the  far  North, 
together  with  the  enclosing  arms  of  Olivet  on  the  East,  and, 
perhaps,  the  distant  range  of  Moab  just  mentioned  ;  but  he 
is  perplexed  because  on  the  South  and  West  he  finds  no 
protecting  mountains  such  as  the  expression  would  lead  one 
to  look  for.  Seen,  however,  from  an  elevated  point,  like 
this  roof  on  which  we  are  standing,  the  surrounding  country 
seems  to  fit  perfectly  with  the  scriptural  picture.  The  pro¬ 
tection  of  the  city  is  notin  any  towering  heights  which  over¬ 
top  and  hem  the  city  in,  but  in  that  wide  sea  of  mountains 
which,  billowing  ridge  behind  ridge,  and  stretching  arid  and 
forbidding  far  into  the  distance,  are  seen  to  surround  the 
city  on  every  hand.  This  difficult  country,  waterless  and 
waste,  was,  historically  speaking,  always  Jerusalem's  pro¬ 
tection. 

And  now  it  behoved  us  immediately  to  make  our  plans, 
and  decide  upon  what  day  we  would  take  up  our  camp. 
One  main  object  of  our  tour  was  to  see  something  of  the 
Ghor  or  Valley  of  the  Jordan.  I  had  long  since  come  to  the 

*  “  Sinai  and  Palestine,”  p.  174. 


9 


JAFFA  TO  JERUSALEM 

conclusion  that  it  was  probably  by  this  Jordan  Valley  route 
that  Jesus  in  His  last  sad  journey  came  from  Galilee  to 
Jerusalem,  and  I  was  anxious  for  this  reason  to  travel  down 
some  portion  of  its  length.  After  due  deliberation  we 
decided  to  travel  northward  to  Nazareth  at  once,  returning 
southward  by  the  Jordan  Valley,  and  deferring  any  sight¬ 
seeing  in  Jerusalem  until  the  end  of  our  tour. 

This  decision  having  been  communicated  to  Hanna,  he 
forthwith  brought  our  horses  round  for  us  to  try  them,  and 
we  went  for  a  two  hours'  ride  on  as  lovely  a  morning  as  1 
have  ever  known.  It  was  just  such  a  day  as  early  June 
sometimes  brings  to  us  in  England,  when  the  air  is  of 
perfect  clearness,  the  colour  brilliant,  the  heat  tempered  by 
a  delicious  breeze,  and  the  dull  world  so  gay  and  buoyant 
that  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  it  has  ever  been  the  scene  of 
tragedy  or  terror. 

At  the  start  our  horses  were  somewhat  fresh  and  frisky, 
and  performed  various  antics  to  the  amusement  of  the 
onlookers,  but  they  very  soon  quieted  down  and  gave  no 
trouble  except  such  as  was  occasioned  by  their  extreme 
jealousy  of  one  another.  This  I  have  been  told  is  character¬ 
istic  of  the  Syrian  horses.  They  seldom  quarrel  with 
their  riders,  but  continually  quarrel  with  each  other. 
The  almost  invariable  mode  of  progression  being  in 
Indian  file,  it  is  inevitable  that  one  horse  of  the  party  should 
be  the  leader  ;  and  which  is  to  be  the  leader  is  the  great 
subject  of  dispute  among  the  horses.  In  their  endeavours 
to  settle  this  question  each  in  his  own  favour,  they  bite  and 
kick  and  fight,  with  no  animosity  against  their  riders  but 
occasionally  with  peril  to  them  all  the  same.  The  peril, 
however,  is  after  all  but  slight,  for  the  Syrian  horses  are 
docile  to  a  degree,  and  there  is  no  need  for  even  inex¬ 
perienced  riders  to  make  such  an  exhibition  of  themselves 
as  did  the  good  clergyman  of  whom  Dr.  Merrill  tells  in  his 
delightful  book  “  East  of  Jordan  ”  *  u  who  was  so  timid  that 
he  had  his  horse  led  by  the  bridle  from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem,  to 
Jericho,  Mar  Saba,  Hebron,  and  back  to  Jerusalem  again, 
and  thence  all  the  way  up  through  the  country  to  Beirut  1  " 

Our  ride  took  us  first  to  the  knoll  above  “  Jeremiah’s 
Grotto,"  which  I  had  learned  in  my  previous  study  to 
identify  with  Calvary.  The  question  whether  it  is  rightly  so 
identified  must  be  discussed  in  a  future  chapter  ;  here  it 
will  suffice  to  say  that  it  is  a  mound  divided  from  the 

*  Op.  cit.  p.  219. 


10 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


northern  wall  of  the  present  city  only  by  a  road  and  a  small 
area  of  garden  ground,  and  presenting  to  it  the  broken  face 
of  a  sheer  cliff,  while  on  all  other  sides  it  slopes  gently  down 
so  as  to  form  a  slightly  rounded  surface. 

I  had  sufficient  faith  in  the  site  to  make  the  interest  very 
great,  yet  there  was  always  the  haunting  doubt,  and  there 
was  moreover  the  hard  glare  of  the  mid-day  sun,  which  made 
the  reality  seem  too  earthly.  I  felt  that  one  should  have 
come  here  not  only  in  full  faith,  but  by  twilight.  On  this 
first  visit  it  was  as  if  the  sun  were  shouting  to  us,  “  This  is 
Calvary  !  ”  and  it  ought  to  have  been  whispered. 

Leaving  this  sacred  spot  to  be  revisited  on  a  later  day,  we 
struck  northward  to  Scopus,  where  one  of  the  camps  of 
Titus  was  pitched  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  in  A.D.  70. 
The  mountain  is  something  less  than  a  mile  from  Jerusalem 
(seven  stadia,  Josephus  says),  near  the  spot  now  called 
Mesharif,  and  is  one  of  the  great  view-points  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  of  the  city.  The  Temple  Area  stands,  as  Josephus 
describes  it,*  in  full  view,  with  the  city  spreading  beyond  it, 
while,  away  to  J:he  East,  the  north  end  of  the  Dead  Sea 
can  be  seen,  and  that  strange  mountain-wall  of  Moab 
behind  it. 

From  Scopus  we  came  by  a  circuit  over  the  high  ground 
to  the  Mount  of  Olives  on  the  East  of  the  city,  from  which 
we  descended  by  a  steep  road  past  the  traditional  Garden  of 
Gethsemane  into  the  Valley  of  the  Kidron,  and  so  up  to  the 
so-called  St.  Stephen's  Gate  and  through  the  city  to  our 
hotel  in  the  Western  or  Christian  quarter.  About  some  of 
these  localities  we  shall  have  an  opportunity  of  speaking  at 
more  length  in  a  later  chapter. 

*  “  Wars,”  v.  ii.  3. 


CHAPTER  III 


JERUSALEM  TO  BETHEL 

The  ride  described  in  the  previous  chapter  was  but  a  u  pre¬ 
liminary  canter v  to  try  our  horses  ;  but  now  we  were  to 
begin  serious  work.  The  morning  of  Monday,  March  u, 
was  spent  in  making  necessary  arrangements,  packing  saddle¬ 
bags,  kit-bag,  wraps  and  umbrellas,  looking  out  photo¬ 
graphic  films,  pressing-papers,  sketch-books,  and  all  the 
other  things  that  would  be  wanted  upon  the  journey,  and 
making  a  bundle  of  the  rest  to  be  left  at  Jerusalem. 

The  native  saddle-bag,  a  gorgeous  affair  decorated  with 
numerous  tassels  and  fringes,  is  a  most  useful  contrivance, 
indispensable  indeed  when  you  are  separated  from  your 
baggage,  as  we  mostly  were,  for  the  whole  travelling  day. 
The  native  stirrup  is  also,  as  I  was  afterwards  informed  by 
an  experienced  traveller,  very  comfortable  and  much  to  be 
preferred  for  this  kind  of  travelling  to  the  European  stirrup 
which  is  generally  supplied  to  tourists.  It  consists  of  a  flat 
metal  plate  upon  which  the  whole  foot  is  rested,  and  the 
corner  of  which  is  used  as  a  spur.  As  for  the  saddle,  most 
English  travellers  use  the  European  form,  although  some 
prefer  the  Arab  with  its  high  peaks  fore  and  aft,  which 
afford  some  support  upon  a  long  day's  journey. 

The  dragoman,  of  course,  was  armed,  but  after  much 
debate  we  decided  to  take  no  arms  ourselves.  West  of  the 
}ordan  all  the  ordinary  roads  nowadays  are  safe  enough, 
it  is  not  until  one  strikes  into  the  untamed  East  that  the 
question  of  arms  need  be  considered.* 

We  intended  to  have  set  forth  directly  after  luncheon, 
but  unfortunately  our  tezkerehs  had  not  come.  The  tezkereh 
is  a  secondary  passport,  with  which  every  traveller  has  to 
provide  himself  in  addition  to  that  which  he  gets  from  the 
Turkish  Ambassador  before  leaving  Europe.  Until  he  has 

*  Macgregor,  of  Rob  Roy  fame,  has  some  very  judicious  remarks 
upon  this  subject.  See  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  219. 


12 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


obtained  this  he  cannot  go  from  one  vilayet,  or  chief 
division,  to  another.  It  is  much  as  if  the  British  were  to 
require  from  every  traveller  in  England  separate  passports 
for  the  Southern,  the  Midland,  the  Northern,  the  Eastern 
and  the  Western  counties,  besides  the  passport  with  which 
he  landed.  This  is,  of  course,  merely  one  of  the  petty  ways 
in  which  the  Turkish  Government  extorts  money  ;  for,  each 
tezkereh  means  not  only  a  fee  for  its  issue,  but  another  fee 
for  the  visa  at  each  vilayet  that  is  entered. 

At  length  the  dragoman  decided  to  start,  tezkereh  or  no 
tezkereh ,  and  was  giving  instructions  to  have  them  sent  after 
us  by  express  messenger,  when  a  youth  came  panting  in  hot 
haste,  his  eyes  starting  from  his  head,  and  with  a  tremendous 
fuss  and  flourish  delivered  the  important  documents  to  the 
dragoman,  and,  of  course,  claimed  his  bakhshish  for  the  ex¬ 
treme  expedition  which  he  had  used.  Our  horses  thereupon 
were  brought  to  the  door,  an  excited  crowd  gathered,  and 
we  proceeded  to  mount  with  the  eye  of  the  world  upon  us. 

Unfortunately  for  the  dignity  of  our  start,  the  steeds  were 
fresher  than  ever,  and  danced  about  in  fine  style  before  the 
entrance  to  the  hotel.  The  animal  upon  which  I  was 
myself  mounted,  after  rearing  and  kicking  in  an  excited 
manner,  backed  obstinately  across  the  middle  of  the  road 
just  as  the  carriage  of  a  Turkish  dignitary,  with  outriders 
and  rearguard,  came  careering  along  at  a  furious  pace.  My 
back  being  turned  that  way  I  was,  of  course,  ignorant  of  the 
approach  of  that  great  man,  and  wondered  why  the  heathen 
did  so  furiously  rage.  However,  we  managed  by  degrees 
to  bring  our  horses  within  hail  of  each  other,  and  started 
in  our  journey  amid  the  cheers  of  the  throng  who  had 
gathered  in  the  street  to  see  us  off — the  first  expedition 
going  northward  that  year. 

A  good  part  of  the  afternoon  ride  was  alongside  a  road 
which  was  then  in  course  of  construction,  but  which  has 
since  been  opened  for  traffic  as  far  as  Bireh.  The  general 
character  of  the  country  was  stony  and  barren,  but  our  way 
was  fringed  throughout  with  flowers  ;  bright  blue  irises — 
little  things  six  inches  high,  but  very  noticeable  among  the 
scarlet  anemones  which  were  everywhere  abundant — 
daisies,  buttercups,  golden  broom,  wreaths  of  cyclamen 
encircling  the  loose  limestone  blocks,  while  once  or  twice  a 
yellow  crocus  peeped  out  among  the  scrub,  a  -solitary 
lingerer,  for  the  time  of  crocuses  was  past. 

Of  traffic  there  was  a  considerable  amount  nearly  all  the 


i3 


JERUSALEM  TO  BETHEL 

way,  people  travelling  in  each  direction,  towards  Jerusalem 
and  away  from  it.  They  were  mostly  poor  folk  driving 
laden  asses  or  walking  in  companies,  the  women  sometimes, 
but  by  no  means  always,  veiled.  At  one  point  we  saw  six 
girls  stepping  along  in  single  file,  balancing  empty  water- 
pots  upon  their  heads.  The  waterpots  lay  upon  their  sides, 
that  being  the  position  in  which  they  are  always  carried 
when  empty,  and  between  each  pot  and  the  bearer’s  head 
was  a  little  round  pad  similar  to  those  used  by  bakers  in 
England  for  their  trays.  At  another  place  we  passed  a  well 
from  which  girls  were  returning  home  with  their  waterpots 
full  and  balanced  upon  their  heads  in  an  erect  position. 
One  picture  is  impressed  with  special  vividness  upon  my 
mind,  that  of  a  beautiful  shepherd-boy  with  dark  oval  face, 
reclining  among  his  flock.  About  his  neck  and  shoulder 
hung  a  scrip,  from  which  he  took  scraps  of  food  and  held 
them  to  the  sheep,  who  ran  to  him  with  perfect  confidence 
and  fed  from  his  hand.  It  might  have  been  David  himself. 

The  villages  we  passed  were  Shafat,  Tell  el-Ful,  er-Ram, 
and  el-Bireh — all  of  them  places  of  scriptural  interest — 
Shafat  being  usually  identified  with  Nob,  Tell  el-Ful  with 
Gibeah  of  Benjamin,  er-Ram  with  Ramah,  and  el-Bireh 
with  Beeroth.* 

Of  these  places  er-Ram  is  to  us  the  most  interesting, 
because  this  is  in  all  probability  the  spot  where  Jacob’s 
pillar  stood  and  marked  the  traditional  grave  of  Rachel 
when  her  story  in  the  Book  of  Genesis  was  written,  where 
it  stood  when  the  story  of  Saul  and  the  lost  asses  was 
written  in  the  Book  of  Samuel — “thou  shalt  find  two  men 
by  Rachel’s  sepulchre  in  the  border  of  Benjamin  at  Zelzah  ” 
— and  because  it  is  the  place  to  which  Jeremiah  alluded 
when  he  recalled  the  sorrowful  leave-taking  of  the  Jewish 
exiles  at  this  spot  and  wrote  the  well-known  lament  quoted 
by  the  Evangelist  Matthew,  “A  voice  was  heard  in  Ramah, 
lamentation,  and  bitter  weeping  ;  Rahel  weeping  for  her 
children  refused  to  be  comforted  for  her  children,  because 
they  were  not.”  f 

Above  all  is  er-Ram  interesting  to  us  because  here  was 

*  The  chief  passage  upon  which  these  identifications  depend  is 
Isa.  x.  28-32.  A  writer  in  the  “  Encyclopaedia  Biblica,”  basing  his  view 
upon  an  emendation  of  the  text,  gives  strong  reasons  for  thinking  that 
it  was  not  from  Nob  at  all,  but  from  the  northern  summit  of  the  Mount 
of  Olives  that  the  enemy  was  to  shake  his  fist  at  Zion  ;  so  the  village 
of  Shafat  may  not  occupy  the  site  of  Nob.  f  Jer.  xxxi.  15. 


14 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  Rachel's  tomb  of  Christ's  time.  The  traditional  tomb, 
which  has  been  shown  for  many  centuries  on  the  road  to 
Bethlehem,  dates  in  all  likelihood  from  the  time  of  Con¬ 
stantine,  when  so  many  other  holy  sites  were  fixed  ;  in  the 
time  of  Jesus  Jacob's  pillar  still  stood  at  Ramah,  and  the 
grave  of  Rachel  which  He  knew  was  the  grave  beside  this 
northern  road.*  Indeed,  the  whole  of  this  afternoon's  ride 
has  a  certain  New  Testament  interest  for  us,  because 
although  the  places  belong  to  the  older  Jewish  history,  their 
close  proximity  to  each  other  helps  us  to  realise  how  every 
mile  of  country  through  which  Jesus  passed  on  His  journeys  to 
and  from  Jerusalem  was  replete  with  sacred  story.  Here,  in  a 
distance  of  five  miles,  we  have  passed  the  ruins  of  at  least 
four  villages  intimately  connected  with  Scripture  narrative. 
Possibly  some  parts  of  Britain  are  similarly  packed  with 
British  history  ;  but  consider  the  difference  !  How  much 
does  the  English  peasant  know  of  English  history,  and  of 
the  connection  of  existing  localities  with  that  history  ? 
With  the  Jew  it  was  far  otherwise.  His  history  and  his 
religion  were  one.  His  synagogue-schooling  steeped  every 
Jewish  boy  with  both  at  once.  His  patriotism,  which  to  the 
Roman  seemed  so  fanatical  and  so  obstinate,  was  afire  with 
religious  enthusiasm.  And  down  to  Jesus’  day  almost  every 
corner  of  Palestine  was  filled  with  villages  and  towns  bearing 
names  which  hallowed  them  because  those  names  were 
written  in  the  sacred  annals  of  God's  suffering  people. 

All  three  of  these  villages — Shafat,  Tell  el-Ful,  and  er- 
Ram — are  small  places,  not  in  themselves  picturesque, 
though  picturesquely  situated  on  high  hills ;  but  el-Bireh 
(the  Beeroth  of  Scripture),  the  fourth  place  which  we  passed, 
comes  under  a  different  category — it  is  beautiful  in  itself. 
The  village,  as  we  saw  it,  was  surrounded  by  vineyards,  each 
with  its  watchman’s  tower,  and  by  plantations  of  fig-trees 
which  were  now  just  putting  forth  the  tender  leaf.  A  foun¬ 
tain  of  sweetwater  gushed  from  a  crevice  in  a  rock.  The 
elders  of  the  village  sat  and  gossiped  and  smoked  their 
hubble-bubbles,  while  near  by  the  children  played  and 
shouted  to  their  hearts'  content.  As  we  rode  on  into  the 
distance  the  sounds  came  to  us  wafted  on  the  breeze,  like 
those  of  an  English  village  on  a  summer  evening. 

There  are  ruins  of  an  old  khan  here,  for  it  was  one  of  the 

*  “  Book  of  Jubilees,”  32  ;  “  Gotting.  Year-Book,”  1850,  p.  53,  quoted 
try  Hausrath,  “  Time  of  Jesus,”  1878,  vol.  i.  p.  30.  The  question  as  to  the 
site  of  Rachel’s  tomb  is  further  discussed  in  chapter  xxxi. 


FIG  I. — OUR  DRAGOMAN 


FIG.  2  — OUR  MULETEERS 


■ 


' 


i5 


JERUSALEM  TO  BETHEL 

places  where  Jews  travelling  northward  from  Jerusalem  used 
to  pass  the  night.  Sometimes,  it  is  true,  those  who  wished 
to  reach  Galilee  would  cross  the  Jordan  opposite  Jericho  and 
travel  up  the  eastern  bank,  but  this  was  by  no  means  the  in¬ 
variable  rule  ;  often  they  would  pass  through  Samaria,  spend¬ 
ing  the  first  night  at  Beeroth  or  Gophna,*  especially  when 
they  were  in  haste,  t  To  this  day  travellers  from  Jerusalem 
often  make  it  their  first  stage.  There  is  some  likelihood,  there¬ 
fore,  in  the  old  tradition  dating  from  Crusading  times,  that 
this  village  of  el-Bireh  is  where  the  caravan,  returning  to 
Nazareth  after  the  feast  at  Jerusalem,  made  its  first  halt,  when 
Joseph  and  Mary  found  that  the  child  Jesus  was  not,  as  they 
had  supposed,  u  among  their  kinsfolk  and  acquaintance.’’ 

From  el-Bireh  we  diverged  to  the  right,  and  another 
half-hour  brought  us  to  Betin,  the  modern  representative 
of  the  ancient  shrine  of  Bethel.  There  we  found  our  camp 
pitched  in  a  sheltered  nook  below  the  village.  It  was  the  first 
we  had  seen  of  it,  and  we  were  rather  taken  aback  by  the 
luxury  which  Messrs.  Cook  and  Sons  had  thought  fit  to  pro¬ 
vide  for  two  homely  individuals.  The  camp  consisted  of 
three  tents — sleeping-tent,  dining-tent,  and  kitchen-tent — 
containing  bedsteads,  washstands,  dressing-table,  looking- 
glass,  chairs,  carpets,  mosquito-curtains,  and  endless  etceteras. 
The  staff  included,  besides  our  dragoman,  a  groom,  a  cook, 
a  waiter,  and  three  muleteers.  Our  beasts  of  burden  were 
four  horses,  six  mules,  and  two  donkeys. 

The  little  hollow  in  which  our  camp  was  pitched  at  Bethel 
was  surrounded  by  a  dry  stone  wall,  and  in  the  midst  rose  an 
aged  fig-tree,  whose  twisted  arms  sprawled  stark  and  un¬ 
canny  against  the  sky.  On  the  stony  height  above  us  stood 
one  of  the  square  flat-topped  houses  of  this  strange  land. 
A  turbaned  figure  clad  in  the  flowing  garb  of  the  East  could 
be  seen  upon  the  roof  slowly  pacing  to  and  fro,  and  pausing 
every  now  and  then  to  gaze  fixedly  towards  the  Western 
heavens  or  look  up  towards  the  zenith. 

The  twilight  is  short  in  Palestine.  We  arrived  in  broad 
daylight ;  half  an  hour  afterwards  it  was  too  dark  to  see. 
Suddenly  a  mist  came  sweeping  up,  and  the  wind  began  to 
rise.  “  Ha  !  rain?”  exclaimed  Hanna;  "well,  let  rain 
come  !  ”  But  as  we  sat  reading  in  our  tent  after  dinner,  we 
heard  some  one  ramming  every  tent-peg  tighter  into  the 
ground.  They  were  expecting  a  storm. 

*  Hausrath,  “Time  of  Jesus,’’  vol.  i.  p.  26.  Compare  Josephus, 
“Antiq.,”  xx.  vi.  1.  f  Josephus,  “Life,”  sec.  52. 


CHAPTER  IV 

FROM  BETHEL  THROUGH  SHILOH  TO  HUWARA 

The  storm  did  not  come.  There  was  a  shower,  which 
Hanna  declared  was  nothing  but  the  falling  of  the  dew.  I 
awoke  without  having  dreamt  of  any  ladder  reaching  to  the 
skies  :  the  luxury  of  Cook's  tents  forbids,  I  fear,  those  dreams 
of  heaven. 

By  daylight  it  was  easy  to  see  what  Dean  Stanley  meant 
when  he  supposed  that  the  material  suggestion  of  Jacob's 
Dream  came  from  the  manner  in  which  the  stones  around 
formed  themselves  into  a  vast  “  ladder,"  or  rather  “  flight  of 
steps  "  (for  so  the  word  should  be  rendered).*  It  is  a  familiar 
phenomenon  in  limestone  country,  and  by  no  means  peculiar 
to  Bethel,  although  at  Bethel  the  natural  terraces  climbing 
up  the  hill  side  are  very  marked,  and  readily  lend  themselves 
to  the  fancy. 

What  may  be  the  mythology  or  folk-lore  of  that  ladder  of 
Jacob  I  do  not  know.  Perhaps  it  is  connected  with  the 
Indian,  Persian,  and  Egyptian  ladders  by  which  souls 
descended  from  heaven  to  enter  into  earthly  bodies  ;  or, 
perhaps  it  is  purely  legendary  adornment  of  the  Yahvistic 
narrative  by  the  hand  of  the  Elohist.  The  earlier  narrative 
has  no  “  ladder,"  only  a  dream  that  u  Yahveh  stood  beside 
him."  If,  as  biblical  scholars  now  tell  us,  Jacob  was  a 
tribal  name,  and  the  pillar  stood  at  Bethel  long  before  the 
story  of  Jacob  was  written,  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether 
the  stone  was  erected  because  of  a  vision,  or  the  vision  in¬ 
vented  to  account  for  a  stone. 

In  Arabia  the  anointed  pillar  is  still  found  a  living  fact 
of  religion  ;  and  it  stands  as  a  memorial  of  the  past  in  almost 
every  land.  Such  a  pillar  was  more  than  a  monument  of 
some  religious  event,  more  than  an  altar  for  the  offering  of 
sacrifices,  it  was  (like  the  stone  at  Luz)  “  Beth-el,"  the  house 
of  God — the  object  into  which  the  Deity  entered,  the  body 
*  “  Sinai  and  Palestine,”  p.  220. 


THROUGH  SHILOH  TO  HUWARA  17 

in  which  He  dwelt,  the  vehicle  by  which  He  manifested 
Himself  to  His  worshippers.  At  Bethel,  Shechem,  Gilgal, 
and  other  shrines,  such  pillars  continued  to  be  an  essential 
part  of  the  apparatus  of  worship  to  a  comparatively  late 
time.* 

“But  where  is  Jacob’s  stone  now?”  Well,  such  a  question  is 
not  quite  so  absurd  as  it  may  seem  at  first.  Prehistoric  monu¬ 
ments  of  the  kind — monuments  dating  from  an  antiquity 
quite  as  remote — are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  world  ; 
and,  seeing  that  there  is  absolutely  no  doubt  as  to  the  site 
of  Bethel,  why,  if  the  iconoclasm  of  intervening  ages  has 
spared  it,  may  not  the  megalith  be  standing  there  still  ? 
Unfortunately,  the  iconoclasm  of  intervening  ages  has  been 
unusually  ruthless  in  Western  Palestine.  East  of  the  Jordan, 
menhirs,  such  as  this  pillar  of  Jacob,  with  cromlechs,  cairns, 
and  dolmens,  are  numerous  enough,  but  west  of  the  Jordan 
they  are  few  and  far  between.  It  is  sufficient,  however,  to 
recall  the  doings  of  one  very  celebrated  iconoclast  at  this 
very  place,  namely,  those  of  King  Josiah  :  “  He  brake  in 
pieces  the  pillars,  and  cut  down  the  Asherim,  and  lilled 
their  places  with  the  bones  of  men.  Moreover,  the  altar 
that  was  at  Bethel,  and  the  high  place  which  Jeroboam,  the 
son  of  Nebat,  who  made  Israel  to  sin,  had  made,  even  that 
altar  and  the  high  place  he  brake  down  ;  and  he  burned  the 
high  place  and  stamped  it  small  to  powder,  and  burned  the 
Asherah.”  After  that  it  is  of  little  use,  I  fear,  to  look  for 
Jacob's  pillar ! 

Nevertheless,  I  remembered  that  one  such  prehistoric 
monument  was  reported  to  be  still  standing  here.  It  is 
mentioned  by  Baedeker,  and  alluded  to  in  most  of  the  recent 
accounts  of  Bethel  ;  namely,  a  stone  circle  discovered  by 
Sir  Charles  Wilson,  “  which,  though  much  decayed,  reminds 
one  irresistibly  of  the  rude  stone  temples  of  our  own 
country.”!  Why  Josiah  had  not  “ stamped  it  small  to 
powder”  I  could  not  say;  perhaps  he  overlooked  it.  At 
any  rate,  it  might  prove  worth  our  while  to  see  it,  and  if 
not,  the  climb  would  at  least  give  us  a  view  of  the  country 
and  do  us  no  harm. 

So  we  mounted  our  horses  and  left  our  camp  in  the  valley 
for  a  bare,  bleak  height  above  the  village.  Unluckily  I  had 

*  See  Hosea  iii.  4.  On  the  place  of  the  sacrificial  pillar  in  the 
worship  of  the  northern  Semites  see  Robertson  Smith’s  “  Religion  of 
the  Semites,”  pp.  200  et  seq. 

f  P.E.F.Q.S.,  1881,  p.  81. 


B 


i8 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


no  precise  note  as  to  the  position  of  the  “  circle.”  Baedeker 
said  it  was  on  the  north  of  the  village,  the  Palestine  Explora¬ 
tion  List  of  Photographs  said  it  was  on  the  east. 

The  best  plan  seemed  to  be  to  make  our  way  to  the  highest 
neighbouring  point  and  take  a  general  survey,  and  this 
accordingly  we  did.  What  a  tumult,  what  a  wild  confusion 
of  rocks  and  stones,  some  lying  loose,  others  rooted  in  the 
mountain  !  Truly  Jacob  had  no  lack  of  material  when  he 
u  took  of  the  stones  of  that  place  and  put  them  for  his 
pillows  !”  The  line  of  deep  blue  away  to  the  north,  where 
the  mountains  of  Samaria  lay,  was  refreshing  to  the  eye  ; 
but  in  the  nearer  distance,  for  miles  around  us,  was  little 
else  than  a  grey  chaos.  I  swept  the  adjacent  hills  and 
valleys  with  my  glass,  and  there,  sure  enough,  on  a  slope 
less  than  half  a  mile  away,  was  a  fairly  perfect  circle.  We 
did  not  need  to  go  to  it,  for  I  could  see  it  in  every  detail. 
It  was  a  circle  of  huge  stones,  quite  as  perfect  as  that 
photographed  by  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  and  yet 
— not  the  same  !  In  fact,  I  cannot  but  think  that  too  much 
has  been  made  of  that  circle,  and  that  in  the  stony  wilder¬ 
ness  around  Bethel  several  such  natural  circles  might  be 
found.  Conder  says  that  he  paid  three  visits  to  the  vicinity 
“  with  the  view  of  examining  the  supposed  circle  of  stones.” 
“We  were,  however,  unable,”  he  writes,  “to  arrive  at  any 
other  conclusion  than  that  the  curious  rocks  photographed 
by  Colonel  Wilson  are  natural  features  ;  and  although  Dr. 
Sepp  speaks,  I  believe,  of  a  rude  stone  circle,  I  was  unable  to 
find  any  such  monument  after  searching  the  entire  vicinity.”* 
I  will  only  add  that  the  photograph  published  by  the  Pales¬ 
tine  Exploration  Fund  fully  confirms  this  verdict  of  Colonel 
Conder  as  to  the  natural  origin  of  this  supposed  monument ; 
and  I  hope  that  some  time  soon  the  guide-books  and  hand¬ 
books  will  cease  to  copy  one  another  and  to  waste  the  time 
and  energy  of  tourists. 

Having  concluded  our  survey  of  Bethel,  we  renewed  our 
journey,  travelling  through  a  barren  and  silent  country. 
Not  the  twitter  of  a  bird  broke  the  deathly  stillness,  for  in 
these  mountains  where  birds  of  prey  are  abundant,  the  little 
songsters  cannot  live.  We  passed  several  villages  perched 
upon  the  tops  of  hills,  but  the  very  villages  seemed  dead  : 
we  saw  no  figures  moving  about  them,  heard  no  sounds 
issuing  from  them.  Even  the  flowers  seemed  to  have  for¬ 
saken  this  forbidding  region,  and  it  was  not  until  we  left  the 

*  P.E.F.Q.S.,  1881,  p.  255. 


19 


THROUGH  SHILOH  TO  HUWARA 

bald  and  solid  rocks  of  Bethel  that  we  found  ourselves  once 
more  travelling  over  the  beautiful  carpet  which  spreads  itself 
on  the  bleak  hills  of  Judaea  in  springtime.  Then  indeed, 
wherever  the  least  scrap  of  soil  could  be  found,  their  glory 
returned  to  us.  Large  anemones,  white,  scarlet,  blue,  and 
pale  pink,  with  cyclamens  both  white  and  purple,  wreathed 
every  stone  and  draped  every  mountain-terrace. 

Leaving  the  high  ground,  we  descended  into  The  Valley  of 
Fig-trees,  avast  depression  with  plantations  of  figs  extending 
far  up  the  slopes  by  which  it  is  bounded.  We  climbed  again, 
and  again  descended  by  a  narrow  and  rocky  wadi  known  as 
The  Valley  of  Robbers.  The  path  drops  steeply  down  the 
length  of  this  pass  beneath  a  fine  range  of  limestone  rocks 
in  which  are  many  caves.  At  one  point  a  spring  breaks  out 
of  the  cliff  and  trickles  down  its  face.  This  place  opens 
into  a  fine  wide  valley  as  full  of  olive-trees  as  the  first  was 
of  fig-trees,  their  grey  foliage  spreading  over  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  hollow,  and  climbing  the  mountain-sides  as 
far  as  eye  can  see.  Again  we  rose  and  again  descended  ; 
and  found  ourselves  in  a  broad  plain,  with  deep  rich  soil, 
where  barefooted  men  were  ploughing  with  their  old-world 
ploughs.  They  press  on  the  cross-piece  of  the  simple 
plough-tail  with  their  left  hand,  and  in  their  right  they  carry 
a  long  goad  with  which  they  guide  the  little  oxen,  one  man 
and  one  yoke  of  oxen  to  each  plough. 

From  this  plain  the  road  to  Sinjil  (the  Casale  St.  Giles  of 
the  Crusaders)  bears  away  to  the  left ;  but  we  kept  straight 
on,  or  inclined  a  little  to  the  right,  ascending  another  barren, 
stony  region.  We  were  now  approaching  Seilun,  the  ancient 
Shiloh.  On  our  right,  a  little  off  the  path,  stood  an  ancient 
building,  about  thirty-five  feet  square,  known  as  “  The 
Mosque  of  the  Forty,"  that  is  to  say  it  is  dedicated  to  the 
Forty  Companions  of  the  Prophet.  But  it  was  a  synagogue 
before  it  was  a  mosque,  for  the  lintel  of  the  north  doorway, 
although  it  has  been  thrown  down  since  Colonel  Conder 
visited  it  in  1872,  is  still  unbroken,  and  shows  the  pot  of 
manna  on  its  front,  being,  as  Conder  declares,  “  similar  to 
the  lintels  of  Galilean  synagogues."  Neither  are  the  Jews 
and  the  Mohammedans  the  only  claimants  to  the  building, 
for  in  the  west  wall  there  is  a  pointed  arch  ;  and  inside  the 
ruin  are  columns  and  capitals  which  Colonel  Conder  con¬ 
siders  to  be  Byzantine.  In  all  probability,  therefore,  the 
building  has  been  first  a  synagogue,  then  a  church,  and 
finally  a  mosque. 


20 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


What  can  have  made  this  particular  spot  so  sacred  that 
Jew,  Christian  and  Moslem  have  alike  reverenced  it  ?  Of 
course  those  to  whom  the  Hebrew  Tabernacle  is  a  solid  fact 
jump  to  the  conclusion  that  this  is  the  spot  where  the 
Tabernacle  stood.  Even  Edersheim  quotes  the  opinion 
with  apparent  approval.*  All  that  we  can  say,  however,  is 
that  in  ancient  and  mediaeval  times  such  a  tradition  may 
have  existed  and  led  to  the  erection  of  these  shrines,  but 
that,  if  so,  it  is  quite  lost  now. 

As  we  approached  Shiloh  I  had  in  mind  that  passage  in 
Stanley's  “  Sinai  and  Palestine  "  in  which  the  author  pictures 
the  “  daughters  of  Shiloh  "  as  dancing  about  the  well  at  the 
yearly  festival,!  and  I  asked  the  dragoman  to  point  it  out  to 
me  when  we  reached  it.  Accordingly,  a  little  way  past  the 
“  Mosque  of  the  Forty,"  he  pointed  out  a  round  pool  cut  in 
the  rock,  which  he  said  was  the  Well  of  Shiloh.  This  may 
certainly  be  sufficiently  ancient,  but  a  serious  drawback  is 
that  it  is  not  a  well  at  all,  but  a  cistern,  and  it  was  difficult 
to  imagine  Shiloh's  daughters  dancing  round  this.  It  is  to 
be  noticed,  however,  that  this  “  well "  is  a  feature  of  the 
picture  gratuitously  introduced,  and  that  the  Scripture 
passage  to  which  Stanley  refers  contains  no  mention  of  it 
at  alLJ 

However,  while  we  were  on  the  subject  of  wells  it  seemed 
not  amiss  to  visit  any  running  water  which  there  might  be 
in  the  neighbourhood ;  so  I  determined  that  after  our 
mid-day  meal  we  would  go  in  search  of  the  real  well  of 
Shiloh.  Meanwhile  luncheon  was  the  next  business  on  the 
programme. 

We  ate  it  under  the  shadow  of  another  mosque.  A 
group  of  villagers  gathered  round  us.  The  men  wore 
the  usual  square  striped  cloak  of  coarse  sacking  thrown 
over  a  tunic  of  dark-coloured  cotton,  which  was  belted 
at  the  waist  and  came  a  little  below  the  knees.  Their 
heads  were  wrapped  in  the  keffiyeh  or  large  handkerchief 
protecting  the  neck  and  fastened  round  the  crown  by  the 
agal  or  elastic  rope  of  camel-hair  or  worsted.  The  girls 
wore  blue  skirts,  and  had  their  heads  wrapped  in  white 
kerchiefs.  Their  faces,  like  those  of  all  fellah  women,  were 

*  “Sketches  of  Jewish  Life,”  p.  255. 

t  “  Sinai  and  Palestine,”  p.  232.  Judges  xxi.  19  et  seq, 

+  Some  trace  of  the  festival  may  linger  in  the  name  Merj  el  ’Aid, 
“  the  meadow  of  the  feast,”  by  which  the  plain  to  the  south  of  Seilfin 
is  still  called.  P.E.F.Q.S.,  1877,  p.  180. 


THROUGH  SHILOH  TO  HUWARA 


21 


unveiled.  One  man,  of  different  aspect  from  the  rest,  tried 
to  converse,  speaking  to  my  surprise  what  seemed  tolerable 
French.  He  asked  the  invariable  questions  as  to  where  we 
came  from  and  whither  we  were  going.  I  complimented 
him  upon  his  French,  and  he  explained  that  he  was  an 
Algerian. 

After  luncheon  I  requested  Hanna  to  inquire  of  the  natives 
whether  there  was  no  running  water  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  village,  and  one  of  the  youths  readily  undertook  to 
guide  us  to  it.  He  had  not  gone  far  when  he  was  joined  by 
another,  and  the  two  stepped  briskly  on  before  us,  planting 
their  bare  feet  on  the  rough  and  thickly-strewn  stones  with 
the  greatest  unconcern.  They  were  very  jolly  fellows,  their 
broad  faces,  which  were  almost  black,  shining  with  good 
humour,  their  eyes  sparkling,  and  rows  of  white  teeth  gleam¬ 
ing  when  they  laughed.  The  ease  and  spring  of  their  walk 
over  the  rough  ground  indicated  great  agility  and  health  ; 
indeed,  it  seemed  difficult  for  them  to  walk  slowly  enough 
for  us  ;  they  would  stop  and  look  round  and  wait,  and  then 
trot  on  again,  just  as  a  dog  does  when  he  is  out  for  a  walk 
with  his  master. 

The  spot  to  which  they  guided  us  was  in  a  deep  valley 
running  north  and  south,  the  western  side  of  it  perforated 
with  numbers  of  rock-cut  tombs  lying  in  rows  along  the 
layers  of  limestone.  In  a  picturesque  nook  on  the  same  side 
of  the  valley,  among  piled-up  rocks,  they  showed  us  a  round 
hole  just  large  enough  to  admit  the  body  of  a  man.  Look¬ 
ing  down  it  I  could  see,  at  a  depth  of  about  fifteen  feet,  a 
stream  of  running  water.  It  was  apparently  coursing  swiftly 
along  an  underground  duct  in  a  direction  transverse  to  the 
line  of  the  valley. 

While  we  stood  there  a  grey-haired  old  man  appeared, 
wearing  nothing  but  a  cotton  shirt,  which  was  open  from 
the  neck  to  the  waist,  showing  his  hairy  breast.  He  promptly 
descended  through  the  opening,  making  his  way  down  to  the 
water  by  means  of  projections  in  the  rocky  sides  of  the  shaft. 
There  he  drank  and  washed,  and  then  climbed  up  again. 

(Fig-  3  ) 

When  we  got  back  to  our  dragoman,  he  told  one  of  our 
guides  to  show  me  how  he  struck  a  light.  The  youth  pro¬ 
duced  from  a  little  leather  pouch  at  his  girdle  (the  “  purse  ” 
of  Scripture)  a  flint  and  steel,  the  latter  similar  in  shape  to 
those  formerly  used  in  England,  but  smaller.  He  then  took 
a  small  end  of  frayed  hempen  cord,  and  held  the  flint  and 


22 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  cord  between  the  thumb  and  finger  of  his  left  hand  in 
such  a  way  that  the  frayed  end  of  the  latter  came  about  level 
with  the  sharp  edge  of  the  former.  With  his  right  hand  he 
then  struck  the  steel  upon  the  flint,  the  cord  immediately 
began  to  smoulder,  and  he  soon  produced  a  flame  with  his 
breath. 

Remounting  our  horses,  we  now  travelled  in  a  north¬ 
westerly  direction  down  the  Wadi  Seilun.  After  about  an 
hour's  ride  we  turned  northward,  and  on  a  hill  before  us  saw 
the  village  of  el-Lubban — the  Lebonah  which  in  the  Book 
of  Judges  (xxi.  19)  is  mentioned  as  being  on  the  north  of 
Shiloh.  How  strange  it  seems  to  find  these  names  almost 
unchanged,  clinging  to  the  identical  spots  for  thousands  of 
years  ! 

The  country  continued  to  be  silent — no  streams,  no  birds  ; 
only  Mohammed  the  groom,  riding  in  the  rear,  chanted  an 
interminable  Arab  song  to  a  tune  of  four  notes  ;  and  occa¬ 
sionally,  in  some  cultivated  nook  among  the  mountains,  a 
little  company  of  fellahin  sang  at  their  work. 

At  a  distance  of  about  two  or  three  hours'  ride  from  Seilun 
we  found  ourselves  on  a  height  from  which  we  looked 
upon  the  plain  of  Makhnah,  with  a  grand  distant  view  of  the 
mountains  of  Samaria,  and  the  snowy  peak  of  Hermon  far 
to  the  north.  In  the  near  distance  rose  Ebal  and  Gerizim, 
and  at  the  foot  of  the  latter  lay  the  little  village  of  Huwara, 
where  our  camp  was  pitched.  We  reached  the  valley  by  a 
very  steep  and  bad  road,  and  thence  made  our  way  to  the 
open  plain, across  which  about  twenty  minutes'  ride  took  us  to 
our  camp. 

I  should  have  preferred  to  encamp  at  Nablus,  in  that  Vale 
of  Shechem  concerning  whose  beauties  I  had  heard  so  much. 
But  Hanna  strongly  dissuaded  us  from  any  such  plan.  The 
people,  he  said,  were  rude,  and  it  was  impossible  to  keep 
them  from  invading  the  tents  ;  and  they  were  fanatical  to 
such  a  degree  that  they  often  became  dangerous  to  Chris¬ 
tians.  He  further  took  occasion  to  remind  us  that  pictures 
were  forbidden  by  the  Mohammedan  religion,  so  that  when 
we  entered  Nablus  I  must  not  attempt  to  photograph,  other¬ 
wise  we  stood  a  fair  chance  of  all  being  killed.  It  may  be 
that  for  reasons  of  his  own  he  exaggerated  the  dangers,  but, 
of  course,  for  the  ignorant  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to 
follow  his  advice. 

However,  the  spot  where  our  camp  was  pitched  had  its 
own  interest.  Our  tents  were  on  a  spur  of  Mount  Gerizim. 


THROUGH  SHILOH  TO  HUIvArA  23 

The  mountain  chain  rose  upon  our  left  as  we  faced  north¬ 
ward.  On  our  right  beyond  the  plain  was  a  range  of  lower 
hills,  their  tops  ail  aglow  just  now  with  the  rays  of  the 
declining  sun  as  it  sank  behind  Gerizim.  Straight  before  us, 
but  just  hidden  by  a  projecting  spur,  lay  the  Well  of  Jacob. 
It  was  about  four  or  five  miles  distant,  and  between  it  and 
our  camp  stretched  the  Plain  of  Makhnah,  green  with  the 
broad  stretches  of  wheat  now  in  blade.  And  it  came  upon 
me  that  these  were  the  very  fields  upon  which  Jesus  looked 
when  He  sat  by  the  well  and  said,  “  Say  not  ye,  There  are  yet 
four  months,  and  then  cometh  the  harvest  ?  Behold,  I  say 
unto  you,  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  look  on  the  fields,  that  they 
are  white  already  unto  harvest."*  The  very  fields,  and 
almost  the  very  time  of  year.  Not  quite  ;  for  the  wheat- 
harvest  is  in  June,  and  this  was  March  12,  so  that  it  wanted 
little  more  than  three  months  to  the  average  harvest-time. 

Before  our  tents  there  stretched  two  paths,  both  of  them 
leading  to  Nablus.  The  main  path  crosses  the  centre  of 
the  plain,  and  is  the  one  most  frequented  ;  the  other  is  on 
rather  higher  ground,  and  is  therefore  used  more  especially 
in  winter,  though  it  was  far  from  being  deserted  even  now, 
being  shorter,  though  rougher,  than  the  main  route.  Dotted 
along  each  path,  in  vanishing  perspective,  were  people  in 
twos  and  threes,  dressed  in  bright  colours,  particularly  in 
a  very  bright  yellow,  which  seems  to  be  the  favourite 
colour  in  this  part  of  Palestine.  A  little  further  up  the 
slope  on  which  our  camp  was  pitched  stood  the  village  of 
Huwara,  from  which  came  shouts  and  laughter  of  children. 
Their  little  forms,  in  red,  blue,  and  yellow,  glanced  gaily 
in  the  evening  light. 

The  sun  sank  behind  Gerizim,  the  golden  glory  faded 
from  the  hill-tops  on  the  East,  the  vivid  green  of  the  plain 
below  us  darkened,  the  children's  games  ceased,  night  came 
with  rapid  strides,  and  the  sudden  chill  warned  us  into  the 
tents.  I  noticed  that  inside  the  tent  the  thermometer  stood 
at  550  Fahr.,  and  it  was  ten  degrees  lower  when  we  woke 
in  the  morning. 

*  John  iv.  35. 


CHAPTER  V 


FROM  HUWARA  TO  JACOB’S  WELL  AND  SHECHEM 

Professor  George  Adam  Smith,  in  his  “  Historical 
Geography  of  the  Holy  Land/'  mentions  that  besides  the 
ordinary  road  to  Jenin  through  Shechem  and  Samaria,  he  had 
heard  from  his  muleteers  that  another  route  existed.  He 
was  told  that  in  order  to  find  this  route  he  must  take  the 
road  past  Askar  which  leads  towards  Bethshan,  until  he 
reached  the  point  where  it  turns  eastward,  and  then  keep  due 
north.*  Professor  Smith,  therefore,  upholds  Lightfoot  and 
Stanley  in  their  assertion  that  such  a  road  exists,  and  he 
thinks  it  likely  that  it  would  be  preferred  by  Jesus  to  the 
other  route,  inasmuch  as  it  avoided  both  Shechem  and 
Sebaste,  two  large  alien  towns,  one  Samaritan  and  the  other 
Greek,  close  to  which  He  must  otherwise  have  passed.f 

Now,  since  it  was  one  chief  object  of  my  tour  to  obtain 
such  information  as  would  enable  me  to  realise  that  Life,  I 
read  the  passage  from  Professor  Smith's  book  to  our 
dragoman  Hanna,  and  told  him  that  I  should  like,  if  pos¬ 
sible,  to  follow  the  route  described.  He  declared,  however, 
that  he  had  never  heard  of  such  a  road,  neither  had  his  mule¬ 
teers;  and,  even  if  it  existed,  one  thingwas certain, andthat was 
that  we  could  not  depend  upon  finding  any  suitable  camp¬ 
ing-grounds  on  the  way.  I  then  began  to  realise  how  heavily 
handicapped  we  were  by  our  luxurious  camp.  It  was  perfectly 
true  that  to  drag  our  great  caravan  over  mountain-tracks 
which  were  unknown  to  dragoman  or  muleteers,  where  we 
might  find  no  water,  or  might  be  forbidden  by  the  natives 
to  encamp,  would  never  do  at  all,  so  the  plan  had  to  be 
abandoned.  By  all  means  let  the  man  who  has  health  and 
strength  travel  with  nothing  but  horse  and  saddlebags. 

*  Op.  cit.  p.  374. 

t  We  know  from  Josephus  that  Galileans  who  went  up  to  the  festivals 
at  Jerusalem  commonly  travelled  through  the  country  of  Samaria 
passing  through  Jenin  (“  Antiq.”  xx.  vi.  1) ;  but  that  description  might 
apply  to  either  route. 


25 


JACOB’S  WELL  AND  SHECHEM 

However,  I  determined,  since  the  existence  of  the  road 
has  been  denied,  and  since  Professor  Smith  does  not  seem 
to  have  actually  seen  it,  that  I  would  do  what  I  could  to 
ascertain  whether  it  is  really  extant.*  Accordingly  I 
requested  Hanna  to  cross-examine  the  natives  of  Huwara. 
But  all  I  got  from  them  was  this  :  they  said  that  they  never 
went  through  Nablus  or  Sebastiyeh  to  reach  Jenin,  but 
neither  did  they  go  by  the  Bethshan  road.  Their  regular 
route  was  by  a  mountain  track  which  took  them  through 
Fandakumiyeh  and  Jeba.  Now  there  is  one  road  through 
Fandakumiyeh  and  Jeba  which  is  well  known  ;  it  runs 
almost  direct  from  Sebastiyeh  to  Jenin,  leaving  Dothan  on 
the  left  ;  but  the  mountain-track  of  which  the  Huwara 
people  spoke  would  avoid  Nablus  and  Sebastiyeh,  cutting  off 
a  large  corner,  and  joining  the  main  road  near  Jeba. 

However,  we  were  at  the  mercy  of  our  dragoman  and 
impedimenta ,  and,  since  we  could  not  explore  the  road 
mentioned  by  Lightfoot  and  Stanley,  the  best  course 
seemed  to  be  to  take  the  usual  route,  and  when  we  had 
visited  Jacob's  Well  to  follow  the  great  bend  round  to  the 
west  and  see  something  of  Nablus  and  Sebastiyeh,  the 
ancient  Shechem  and  Samaria. 

From  Huwara  to  Jacob’s  Well  is  between  four  and  five 
miles.  WTe  rode  along  the  wide  well-worn  track  between 
broad  stretches  of  glossy  wheat,  and  reached  it  before  nine 
o’clock  in  the  morning.  Until  a  recent  date  the  well  lay 
in  the  open  plain,  amid  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  church 
which  once  covered  it.  At  the  present  time  it  is  enclosed 
by  a  high  stone  wall,  having  been  purchased,  as  Hanna 
informed  us,  by  the  Greek  Christians  of  the  village  of  Balata, 
which  is  about  seven  minutes’  ride  from  the  well. 

In  1697  the  well  was  found  to  be  105  feet  deep,  with 
fifteen  feet  of  water.  In  1866  it  was  reported  as  seventy-five 
feet  deep  and  quite  dry.  In  1881  the  original  stone  which 
surrounded  the  mouth  of  the  well  was  discovered  among 
the  ruins.  In  1894  Professor  George  A.  Smith  writes,  “  It 
is  impossible  to  say  whether  the  well  is  now  dry,  for  many 
feet  are  choked  with  stones/’  f  At  the  present  time  the  well 
may  be  seen  with  the  ancient  curbing  replaced,  the  debris 
cleared  out,  and  the  water  standing  cold  and  sweet  to  a 
considerable  depth. 

Entering  the  enclosure  we  found  ourselves  in  a  garden 

*  It  is  not  marked  in  the  Ordnance  Survey  Map. 
f  Smith,  “  Hist.  Geog.,”  p.  374. 


26 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


of  sweet-scented  stocks,  which  the  Christian  owners  had 
planted  there.  In  one  corner  of  the  enclosure,  on  the  left 
as  we  entered,  were  some  sheds  and  a  long  barrack-like 
building  where  pilgrims  are  lodged  ;  six  hundred  Russian 
pilgrims  were  expected  that  very  night.  Looking  to  the 
right  we  saw  what  seemed  to  be  a  heap  of  rubbish — a 
mound  of  earth  and  stones — in  the  side  of  which  was  a  dark 
doorway  or  cavernous  opening  flanked  by  the  shafts  of  some 
broken  pillars.  To  this  narrow  arch  we  were  led,  and 
found  ourselves  at  the  top  of  a  short  flight  of  steps  which 
led  down  to  a  little  chapel  within  the  mound.  We 
descended  the  steps,  and,  when  our  eyes  had  become  accus¬ 
tomed  to  the  gloom,  saw  before  us  the  Well  surrounded  by 
its  ancient  kerb  cut  half  through  by  the  rub  of  the  ropes. 
Noting  these  deep-worn  grooves,  and  remembering  that 
the  well  has  not  been  in  use  for  ordinary  purposes  since  the 
fourth  century,  when  the  church  whose  ruins  now  lie 
scattered  around  was  built  over  it,  it  appears  to  be  just 
within  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  this  was  the  very 
stone  upon  which  Jesus  sat  when  He  talked  with  the  woman 
of  Samaria  (Fig.  4). 

To  some,  no  doubt,  the  whole  story  of  the  Samaritan 
woman  who  “  came  to  draw  water  "  is  as  legendary  as  the 
story  of  “  our  father  Jacob,  which  gave  us  the  well”;  to 
myself,  however,  the  probabilities  have  seemed  to  be  that 
the  Fourth  Gospel  is  a  composite  book,  consisting  of  dis¬ 
courses  based  upon  more  or  less  historical  traditions,  and 
that  this  particular  story  of  the  Samaritan  woman  is 
one  of  those  which,  while  it  contains  some  Philonic  sym¬ 
bolism,  bears  traces  of  having  come  originally  from  the 
narrative  of  one  who  knew  the  place  and  was  likely  to  know 
the  circumstances.  The  well  lies  close  by  the  road  from 
Judaea  to  Galilee  ;  above  it  towers  the  mountain  of  Gerizim, 
where  the  foundation  of  the  Samaritan  temple  still  exists  ; 
to  the  east  and  south  stretches  the  plain  of  el-Makhnah,  rich 
with  corn-crops  to  this  very  day  ;  and  the  village  of  Askar, 
half  a  mile  away,  in  all  likelihood  represents  the  little  town 
of  Sychar,  from  which  the  Samaritan  woman  had  come 
to  draw  water.  Thus  the  local  details  seem  to  be  exact. 

At  our  request  an  attendant  let  down  a  candle  by  a  long 
string,  and  we  were  able  to  judge  of  the  accuracy  of  another 
detail  of  the  Scripture  story — “  the  well  [ <ppeap  not  Trrjyrj,  the 
pit,  not  the  water]  is  deep."  The  water,  of  which  we  drank, 
is  very  pleasant  to  the  taste  and  the  coolest  which  we  found 


FIG 


3. — THE  WELT 


AT  SHILOII 


fig.  4. — Jacob’s  well 


JACOB’S  WELL  AND  SHECHEM  27 

in  the  course  of  our  journey,  a  cup  of  really  cold  water  not 
being  very  easily  obtainable  in  Palestine.* 

On  issuing  from  the  little  chapel  I  noticed  carefully  the 
relation  of  the  floor  of  the  cell  to  the  level  of  the  surround¬ 
ing  plain.  Standing  on  the  mound  of  debris  which  covers 
the  well  and  looking  around  me,  it  was  very  obvious  that 
the  floor  of  the  chapel  must  be  exactly  on  a  level  with  the 
surrounding  country.  The  well,  in  fact,  was  just  like  others 
which  we  had  seen  in  our  journey — a  plain  circular  opening 
in  the  level  ground,  guarded  by  a  stone  curb  to  keep  the 
earth  from  falling  in — only,  this  particular  well  was  of  un¬ 
usual  depth  and  was  constructed  with  special  pains,  for  the 
upper  part  is  protected  to  some  distance  from  the  surface 
by  carefully  built  stone-work,  and  the  lower  part  is  cut 
through  limestone  rock. 

And  that,  by  the  way,  is  just  one  of  the  puzzles  about 
this  remarkable  relic  of  antiquity — why  such  a  laboriously 
constructed  well  should  exist  in  such  a  place  ?  The  place 
is  within  easy  reach  of  wells  and  streams.  Askar  has  its 
spring  and  Nablus  its  running  brooks.  The  natives,  indeed, 
claim  that  the  latter  has  over  twenty  springs.  Who,  then, 
could  have  dug  such  a  well  in  such  a  place,  and  for  what 
purpose  did  he  dig  it  ? 

The  readiest  answer  certainly  seems  to  be  that  it  was  dug 
by  some  one  who  was  an  alien  to  the  owners  of  the  neigh¬ 
bouring  waters.  Jacob  may  be  an  eponymous  hero  or  a 
real  person ;  but  this  well  surely  goes  back  to  those 
u  patriarchal "  times  when  tribes  or  families  fought  together 
for  possession  of  the  springs  and  jealously  excluded  all  new 
comers  from  their  use. 

The  fact  which  I  have  just  mentioned,  that  Askar  has  its 
own  spring,  suggests  another  puzzle.  If  the  story  of  the 
Woman  at  the  Well  is  a  story  of  fact,  and  if  Askar  is  to  be 
identified  with  Sychar,  why  did  the  woman  come  so  far  to 
fetch  her  water  ?  The  objection  is  not  that  the  well  was 
too  far  away,  for  many  villages  in  the  East  are  half  a  mile 
from  their  wells,  but  that  there  was  no  need  to  come  at  all. 
The  well  of  Askar  (so  I  was  informed  by  the  natives)  is  in 
the  middle  of  the  village,  with  a  convenient  passage  leading 
down  to  the  water’s  edge  ;  and  it  is  used  at  the  present  day 

*  I  asked  the  custodian  whether  the  water  came  from  a  spring  at  the 
bottom  of  the  well.  He  answered  that  it  did  not,  but  came  by  infil¬ 
tration  ;  which  agrees  with  Conder’s  statement  on  the  subject,  but  not 
with  Robinson’s. 


28 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


by  all  the  inhabitants.  Why  then  should  the  Woman  of 
Sychar  come  to  Jacob’s  Well  ?  Formerly,  when  Sy char  was 
supposed  to  be  identical  with  Shechem  or  Nablus,  the 
objection  had  even  greater  weight,  for  Nablus  is  still  more 
distant  and  has  still  more  water  ! 

The  answer  may  be  that  she  came  just  because  it  was 
Jacob’s  Well.  The  well  was  in  some  sort  sacred  in  the  time 
of  Jesus,  and  these  holy  wells  were  and  still  are  frequented 
by  people  from  a  distance  who  value  the  water  from  them 
for  its  supposed  healing  and  medicinal  qualities.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  woman  is  made  to  speak  as  though  it  were 
for  the  mere  quenching  of  thirst  that  she  came  this  weary 
journey,  and  would  gladly  have  a  spring  of  living  water 
nearer  home.  So  that  one  has  to  confess  with  a  sigh,  that 
even  if  the  fiction  is,  as  I  hold,  founded  on  fact,  the  fact  is 
very  difficult  to  separate  from  the  fiction. 

The  path  by  which  we  had  approached  Jacob’s  Well  con¬ 
tinues  northward,  bearing  slightly  to  the  east,  and  passes  the 
village  of  Askar.  But  in  that  path  we  did  not  now  continue, 
but  turned  instead  sharply  to  the  west  along  the  Vale  of 
Shechem,  Ebal  being  now  on  our  right  hand,  and  the  moun¬ 
tain-slopes  of  Gerizim  upon  our  left. 

At  this  turn  to  the  west,  I  noticed  how  closely  the  spurs 
of  Ebal  and  Gerizim  approached  each  other,  making  possible 
the  traditional  reading  of  the  law  from  the  two  mountains, 
if  we  suppose  the  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains  to  be  meant. 
The  Bible  narrative  does  not,  indeed,  require  even  that 
modification  of  the  tradition,  for,  whether  with  the  Autho¬ 
rised  Version  we  read  that  the  Israelites  stood  “  over  against” 
Mount  Gerizim  and  Mount  Ebal,  or  with  the  Revised  Version, 
that  they  stood  “  in  front  of  ”  either  mountain,  the  reading 
of  the  law  was  quite  possible.  The  only  thing  that  is  im¬ 
possible  is  that  the  reading  took  place,  as  has  been  so 
strangely  fancied,  from  the  summits  of  the  two  mountains. 

Nablus,  the  Shechem  of  the  Bible,  is  not  visible  from 
Jacob’s  Well,  being  entirely  round  the  corner,  and  a  good 
half-hour's  ride  to  the  west.* 

At  the  entrance  of  the  town  we  passed  the  Turkish 
barracks,  where  a  number  of  soldiers  were  loafing  about  in 
the  sun.  A  little  further  on  we  dismounted,  and  presently 

*  De  Saulcy,  Stanley,  and  other  writers,  who  identify  Sychar  with 
Shechem,  maintain  that  the  ancient  Shechem  lay  to  the  east  of  the 
rebuilt  city  of  Neapolis  (Nablus),  founded  by  Vespasian,  and  that  this 
saves  the  historicity  of  John  iv.  30,  35. 


29 


JACOB’S  WELL  AND  SHECHEM 

found  ourselves  walking  through  the  streets  of  this  most 
ancient  place.  The  bazaars  of  Nablus  are  beyond  descrip¬ 
tion  picturesque — narrow  of  course,  and  cut,  like  those  we 
had  already  seen  in  Cairo,  Jaffa,  and  Jerusalem,  into  masses 
of  brightest  light  and  blackest  shade  by  the  cloths  and 
awnings  stretched  at  short  intervals  from  roof  to  roof  across 
the  street.  But  there  was  a  colour  here  and  a  tone,  a  variety 
of  form  and  general  flavour  of  antiquity,  which  surpassed 
those  of  the  other  places  mentioned.  The  costumes  of  the 
natives,  too,  were  purely  Oriental  without  that  admixture  of 
Western  garb  which  in  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem  one  cannot  but 
feel  to  be  a  disfigurement,  and  they  were  mostly  of  brightest 
hues  with  a  preponderance  of  yellow. 

At  my  desire  we  were  now  led  to  the  Samaritan  quarter. 
We  passed  through  narrow  streets,  along  which  every  now 
and  then  long  files  of  camels  threaded  their  way,  leaving 
small  space  for  foot-passengers  on  either  side,  through  the 
market  where  corn  was  being  bought  and  sold,  then  bearing 
to  the  left  we  were  taken  to  the  south-western  part  of  the 
town,  and  there,  crowded  among  a  dislocated  mass  of 
houses,  stood  the  tiny  synagogue  in  which  the  Samaritans 
worshipped. 

So  small  was  the  little  whitewashed  room  that  I  did  not 
at  first  understand  that  this  was  the  synagogue  which  I  had 
so  much  wished  to  see.  I  supposed  it  to  be  a  vestibule,  and 
wondered  when  we  should  be  taken  through  it  to  the  main 
building.  I  noticed,  however,  that  it  contained  a  kubla,  or 
niche,  towards  which  prayers  were  directed,  and,  inferring 
that  it  was  therefore  holy,  asked  whether  I  should  remove 
my  shoes.  The  high-priest,  who  was  showing  us  the  place, 
answered  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  do  so  ;  but  before  we 
were  allowed  to  step  upon  the  floor,  he  turned  back  the 
corner  of  the  matting  with  which  it  was  covered. 

This  high-priest  was  a  fine-looking  man,  tall  and  dignified, 
with  lofty  forehead,  oval  face,  clear  olive  complexion,  mild 
eyes,  rather  thick  underlip,  nose  somewhat  straighter  than 
the  usual  Jewish  type,  beard  black  turning  grey.  The  total 
impression  was  distinctly  Jewish,  but  that  of  the  very  finest 
type  of  Jew,  in  which  the  sensuousness  has  almost  disap¬ 
peared,  and  a  certain  refinement  which  does  not  as  a  rule 
belong  to  the  Jew  has  taken  its  place.*  He  was  accompanied 

*  The  generally  accepted  view  as  to  the  origin  of  the  Samaritans  is 
that  they  were  the  Cuthim,  or  strangers  from  Chaldea,  who  were  placed 
in  this  district  when  Sargon  carried  away  Israel  into  Assyria.  Colonel 


30 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


by  his  son,  a  very  beautiful  lad  of  fifteen  or  sixteen.  The 
Samaritans  are  very  clean  in  person,  differing  in  this  respect 
very  markedly  from  those  of  their  ancient  enemies  who  are 
seen  in  Palestine. 

Enemies  to  the  Jews  of  course  they  still  are.  With  the 
Jews  of  Nablus  at  any  rate  their  feud  is  as  acrimonious,  so 
I  was  informed,  as  ever  it  was.  It  cannot,  however,  last 
much  longer  ;  it  will  die  with  the  Samaritans  themselves. 
For,  this  very  ancient  sect  has  almost  disappeared.  In  the 
fifth  century  of  the  present  era  there  were  many  Samaritans 
both  in  Southern  Palestine  and  in  Egypt,  and  they  even  had 
a  synagogue  in  Rome.  As  late  as  the  seventeenth  century 
they  had  communities  in  Cairo  and  Damascus.  But  early 
in  the  last  century  they  became  extinct  everywhere  but  in 
Nablus.  The  Samaritans  of  Nablus  numbered  about  a 
thousand  in  the  twelfth  century  ;  at  the  present  time  they 
number  about  150.* 

The  outer  clothing  of  the  Samaritan  consists,  like  that  of 
any  other  town-dweller  in  Palestine,  of  the  kumbaz,  or  long 
cotton  robe  tied  about  the  waist  with  a  girdle  and  having 
loose  sleeves  reaching  to  the  tips  of  the  fingers.  But  the 
turban  is  peculiar.  Round  the  tarbush,  and  almost  covering 
it,  is  wound  a  broad  sash  of  crimson  silk,  arranged  in 
picturesque  folds.  This  colour  belongs  exclusively  to  the 
Samaritan.  The  high-priest,  in  addition  to  this  character¬ 
istic  turban,  wears  a  long  black  cloth  coat  open  in  front  and 
hanging  loosely  from  his  shoulders.  This,  Hanna  explained, 
was  worn  only  by  his  Holiness,  and  distinguished  him 
from  the  rank  and  file  of  his  flock. 

This  robe,  which  was  not  purchasable  in  the  bazaar,  I  was 
anxious  to  add  to  my  collection  of  costumes,  and  informed 
Hanna  of  my  desire.  He  requested  that  I  would  leave  the 
matter  entirely  to  him,  not  appearing  in  the  transaction 
myself,  and  he  would  then  do  his  best  for  me.  Followed,  a 
lengthy  dialogue  in  Arabic,  much  gesticulation,  tones  of 
surprise,  indignation,  indifference,  explanation,  firmness, 

Conder  and  others  hold,  however,  that  this  is  a  biased  account  of  the 
matter,  invented  by  the  Pharisaic  party,  and  that  the  tradition  of  the 
Samaritans  themselves,  that  they  are  of  pure  Jewish  blood,  is  to  be 
respected.  See  Conder’s  Tent-Work  in  Palestine,”  p.  16  et  seq. 

*  Conder  says  135,  in  1872;  Baedeker  says  160;  our  dragoman 
informed  us  that  the  number  is  150,  of  whom  only  forty  are  initiated. 
In  an  article  in  the  Daily  News  (August  27,  1906)  on  a  visit  to  London 
of  a  deputation  from  the  Samaritans,  the  total  number  is  given  as  115 
men  and  85  women. 


JACOB’S  WELL  AND  SHECHEM  31 

concession,  dignity,  amusement,  and  suddenly  the  High- 
Priest  stripped  off  his  official  robe  with  a  laugh  and  handed 
it  to  Hanna.  Then  the  son  was  despatched  to  fetch  the 
corresponding  turban,  and  the  transaction  was  complete. 

The  price  I  afterwards  learned  was  fifteen  shillings,  below 
which  figure  his  Holiness  declared  that  he  could  not  go,  as 
the  coat  “  had  still  two  years’  wear  in  it.”  Hanna  told  me 
at  the  same  time  (he  never  informed  me  of  his  lies  till  we 
were  well  away)  that  he  would  not  have  obtained  it  even  at 
that  price,  only  he  had  told  the  priest  that  the  coat  was 
wanted  for  an  American  gentleman  who  had  written  for  it 
from  New  York  and  named  a  fixed  price  beyond  which  it 
was  not  possible  for  him  to  go.  There  was  nothing  for  me 
to  do,  after  Hanna  made  such  confessions  of  deceit,  but  to 
express  surprise  and  disapproval,  which,  however,  did  not 
have  the  slightest  practical  effect  when  the  next  occasion 
arose.  The  Arab  is,  in  fact,  incapable  of  understanding  the 
Western  attitude  towards  deceit.  “  The  word  of  an  English¬ 
man  ”  has  become  a  synonym  with  them  for  truth  and 
fidelity,  but  they  seem  quite  unable  to  see  that  the  same 
truthfulness  would  be  either  morally  praiseworthy  or  com¬ 
mercially  advantageous  to  themselves.  Lying  is  an  art  with 
them,  and  I  really  believe  they  take  an  artistic  pleasure  in  it. 
It  is  all  one  with  their  love  for  tales  of  adventure.  The 
invention,  the  cleverness,  and  the  pleasure  of  outwitting 
another,  are  at  the  root  of  their  habitual  deceit.  An  Arab 
appears  very  seldom  to  tell  the  truth  unless  there  is  a  distinct 
and  immediate  advantage  in  doing  so  ;  and  then  he  feels  it 
to  be  a  lost  opportunity  for  playing  his  favourite  and  amusing 
game  of  competitive  invention. 

To  return  to  the  little  synagogue  ;  a  chair  was  now  set 
before  us,  and  we  were  mysteriously  told  to  wait  and  see 
what  would  appear  upon  that  chair.  That  which  appeared 
was  an  ancient  parchment  roll  much  torn  and  patched, 
which  the  priest  placed  there  for  our  inspection.  This  was 
presently  removed,  and  another  was  placed  there,  larger  and 
in  better  condition.  These  manuscripts  were  written  not 
in  the  square  Hebrew  to  which  we  are  accustomed,  but 
in  the  more  ancient  “  Samaritan  ”  character.  They  were, 
the  priest  asserted,  copies  of  the  Pentateuch,  the  first  which 
he  showed  us  dating  from  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  and 
the  second  from  “the  thirteenth  year  after  the  Jews  entered 
Palestine  !  ” 

Whether  either  of  the  scrolls  was  indeed  the  sacrosanct 


32 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


codex  which  is  elevated  in  the  Samaritan  services  like  the 
host  in  a  Roman  Catholic  church,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  It 
is  affirmed  that  the  most  ancient  copy  is  seldom  or  never 
exhibited  to  travellers.  By  the  priest  himself  it  is  handled 
with  the  greatest  reverence.  Every  time  he  touches  it  he 
exclaims,  “  In  the  name  of  God.”  It  is,  however,  interesting 
to  know  that  when  it  is  “  elevated  ”  in  their  synagogue  the 
congregation  do  not  bow  down  to  the  scroll,  but  turn  them¬ 
selves  obliquely  and  fall  on  their  faces  towards  the  eastern 
summit  of  Mount  Gerizim,  where  of  old  their  temple  stood. 

In  a  tiny  courtyard  near  the  synagogue  grew  an  orange- 
tree  which  was  just  now  laden  with  fruit.  Here  we  rested 
for  a  while  in  the  cool  shadow  conversing  with  our  Samaritan 
friend.  His  part  of  the  conversation  consisted  of  only  two 
words — the  words  “very  good.”  But  it  was  surprising  into 
how  many  connections  they  fitted.  Turning  to  the  tree,  he 
said  “  very  good,”  in  a  tone  of  information.  Pointing  to  my 
camera  into  which  I  had  been  putting  some  new  films,  he 
asked  “very  good  ?  ”  in  a  tone  of  inquiry.  Waving  his  hand 
toward  the  mountain  up  which  we  were  about  to  climb  for 
the  sake  of  the  view  over  Nablus,  he  exclaimed  “  Very 
good  !  ”  in  a  tone  of  pride  ;  and  so  the  conversation  went 
merrily  forward  till  we  made  our  adieus  and  addressed  our¬ 
selves  to  our  journey. 


CHAPTER  VI 


SHECHEM  TO  SAMARIA 

At  the  western  boundary  of  the  town  we  remounted  and 
climbed  a  spur  of  Gerizim  by  a  long  slope,  until  we  reached 
a  kind  of  terrace  from  which  there  was  a  beautiful  view  of 
Nablus ;  and  here  under  the  shade  of  the  olives,  which  are 
cultivated  in  terraces  far  up  the  side  of  the  mountain, 
Mohammed  spread  our  mid-day  meal. 

The  place  was  a  favourite  resort  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Nablus,  who  came  here  to  smoke  and  drink  coffee  and  chat 
or  sleep  in  the  sunshine.  Beside  the  road  was  a  platform 
of  stone,  on  which  were  placed  a  number  of  four-legged 
stools,  several  nargilehs,  and  a  small  charcoal  stove.  It  was 
in  charge  of  a  short,  broad,  elderly  man  in  a  white  turban, 
jacket  and  baggy  trousers,  and  an  old  pair  of  slippers.  He 
let  out  the  stools  and  nargilehs,  and  sold  sweet  Turkish 
coffee,  which  he  made  upon  his  stove  in  a  little  metal  vessel 
and  served  in  tiny  cups  without  handles  (Fig.  5).  The 
nargileh  was  originally  made  from  the  nargil  or  cocoanut, 
but  those  which  you  see  in  Palestine  are  mostly  made  of 
glass.  Above  the  bottle  or  vase  which  contains  the  water  is 
a  small  cup-shaped  receptacle  to  hold  the  tobacco.  The 
people  of  Palestine  use  large  flaky  tobacco,  of  which  they 
take  a  handful,  dip  it  in  water  and  squeeze  it  together  ;  then, 
laying  it  in  the  cup,  they  light  it  by  applying  a  bit  of  burning 
charcoal  with  the  tongs.  The  smoke  passes  downward  from 
the  cup  into  the  water,  through  which  it  rises  into  the  empty 
space  above  the  liquid  surface,  and  is  thence  inhaled  by 
means  of  a  long  flexible  tube.  The  smoke  is  drawn  into  the 
lungs. 

This  is  the  favourite  form  of  smoking  in  Palestine  when 
the  smoker  is  at  rest.  Sometimes,  indeed,  I  saw  men  even 
when  riding  horses  or  donkeys  holding  their  “  hubble- 
bubbles  "  in  their  hands  and  smoking  them  as  they  travelled ; 
but,  for  the  most  part,  cigarettes  are  smoked  when  en  route . 

c 


34 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


The  old-fashioned  Turkish  pipes  with  large  bowls  and  long 
wooden  stems  seem  almost  to  have  gone  out  of  use  :  I  do 
not  think  I  saw  a  single  one  in  the  course  of  our  tour.  It  was 
very  strange  to  find  French  cigarette  papers  lying  on  the 
ground  even  in  remote  places  beyond  Jordan,  where  one 
imagines  oneself  to  be  out  of  reach  of  civilisation. 

After  we  had  lunched,  my  fellow-traveller  climbed  the 
mountain  where  the  Samaritan  place  of  sacrifice  is  to  be 
seen,  upon  which  every  year  the  passover-lamb  is  still  slain ; 
where  also  is  the  sacred  rock  upon  which  tradition  says  that 
the  altar  of  their  temple  stood.  As  the  horses  could  not  do 
the  climb,  I  had  to  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  seeing  these 
interesting  spots,  being  constitutionally  incapable  of  the 
ascent  on  foot. 

While  my  friend  was  gone  therefore  I  sat  in  the  shade 
and  looked  abroad  over  the  valley  beneath  me,  in  which  the 
white  houses  of  Shechem  lay  clustered,  with  Ebal  towering 
beyond.  A  stream  of  bright  water  ran  by  the  roadside, 
whose  musical  voice  mingled  with  the  gurgling  of  the 
nargilehs,  the  hum  of  quiet  talk,  the  distant  laughter  of  a 
group  of  children  dabbling  in  the  brook,  and  the  shrill  chirp 
of  a  small  bird  up  the  mountain-side.  Two  youths,  one  in 
yellow,  the  other  in  blue,  were  lounging  in  the  sun  ;  in  a 
shady  corner  a  man  in  a  striped  cloak  and  a  white  turban 
lay  dozing ;  while  the  old  custodian  in  his  baggy  blue 
trousers  and  jacket  was  cooking  his  pot.  Behind  me  rose 
the  terraced  side  of  Gerizim  with  its  olives  ;  below  was  a 
tangle  of  almond-trees,  figs,  and  poplars,  and  those  brambles 
which  figure  in  Jotham's  parable.  It  must  have  been  from 
just  such  a  spot  as  this  that  his  parable  of  the  trees  was 
spoken. 

At  two  o'clock  we  were  on  horseback  again,  and, 
regaining  the  valley,  journeyed  westward  for  about  an 
hour  under  a  burning  sun.  Our  way  lay  through  the 
fertile  valley  of  Shechem,  past  fields  carefully  irrigated 
from  the  abundant  stream  which  flows  down  its  length. 
We  passed  two  aqueducts.  One  of  them,  a  Roman 
structure  on  a  long  series  of  arches,  was  still  in  use; 
though  the  sides  were  broken  and  cascades  poured  from  it 
into  the  road  beneath.  These  old  Roman  contrivances  often 
fill  one  with  wonder.  It  seems  strange  that  so  civilised  a 
people  should  never  have  hit  upon  the  fact,  which  was  daily 
before  their  eyes,  that  water  returns  to  its  level;  and  that  for 
want  of  this  one  little  simple  bit  of  knowledge  they  should 


SHECHEM  TO  SAMARIA 


35 

have  spent  such  enormous  labour  upon  these  wonderful  but 
needless  structures. 

Then  we  turned  to  the  right,  and  for  another  hour 
travelled  by  a  still  hotter  road  toward  the  north-west.  The 
track  lay  between  cultivated  fields  and  continued  to  rise 
until,  at  the  highest  point,  a  great  stretch  of  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean  came  into  view.  A  little  further  and  Samaria  lay 
before  us  on  an  opposing  height. 

The  situation  of  the  ancient  city  is  superb.  Between  us 
and  it  lay  a  deep  valley,  from  which  the  round  terraced 
hill  upon  which  the  ruins  stand  rose  to  a  height  of  four  or 
five  hundred  feet  ;  the  elevation  of  Samaria  above  the  sea 
being  as  much  as  1450  feet.  No  other  city  in  Palestine  can 
approach  it  for  situation  except  Jerusalem  and  Safed. 
Jerusalem,  with  its  sheer  gulf  upon  the  east  and  south,  is 
certainly  impressive,  but  it  cannot  compare  with  Samaria  for 
isolated  grandeur  ;  only  Safed,  the  sacred  city  of  Galilee, 
surpasses  it  in  that  respect.  Omri,  king  of  the  ten  tribes, 
certainly  chose  the  site  of  his  capital  with  judgment. 

But  the  ruins  which  we  see  up  yonder  are  not  those  of  the 
city  of  Omri.  That  old  capital,  where  Ahab  reigned  and 
sinned,  where  Jehu  slaughtered  the  priests  of  Baal,  and  to 
which  Naaman  came  to  be  healed  of  his  leprosy,  was  com¬ 
pletely  wiped  out  of  existence  by  John  Hyrcanus.  The  ruins 
which  crown  the  hill  to-day  are  those  of  Herod  the  Great's 
Samaria.  Its  modern  name,  Sebastiyeh,  is  but  a  slight 
departure  from  the  name  Sebaste,  the  Greek  for  Augusta,  by 
which  the  tyrant  indicated  its  dedication  to  Augustus.  In  the 
lifetime  of  Jesus  there  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  city  a  marble 
temple  where  the  Caesar  was  worshipped  as  a  god,  and  to 
this  day  amid  the  broken  walls  and  scattered  stones  which 
cover  the  topmost  plateau,  a  group  of  pillars  stands  erect,  and 
marks  the  site  of  that  abomination  of  all  pious  Jews. 

We  plunged  into  the  deep  ravine  which  surrounds  the 
mountain  of  Samaria,  passed  through  an  ancient  gateway, 
and  climbing  the  terraced  height  upon  which  the  ruins 
stand,  soon  reached  our  camp,  which  we  found  pitched  in 
the  very  midst  of  Herod's  temple.  Of  course  we  were  soon 
surrounded  by  a  group  of  villagers.  One  in  striped  aba  and 
keffiyeh  brought  coins  which  his  plough  had  turned  up. 
Few  of  them  were  legible,  but  one  was  plainly  a  coin  of 
Probus,  one  of  the  emperors  who  succeeded  in  restoring 
and,  for  a  time  maintaining,  the  unity  of  the  Empire  after 
that  long  and  terrible  period  of  anarchy  during  which  it  had 


T ENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


36 

been  broken  up  into  undefined  military  districts.  When  that 
coin  was  struck,  some  thirty  years  before  Constantine, 
Samaria  was  still  a  place  of  some  importance  ;  for  it  lived 
on  into  Christian  times  and  became  an  episcopal  see.  The 
very  mosque  in  which  these  villagers  worship,  which  stood 
hard  by  our  camp,  was  once  a  Christian  church. 

As  the  sun  got  low  a  great  flight  of  storks  settled  in  the 
trees  behind  our  camp.  I  tried  to  count  them,  but  when  I 
had  got  as  far  as  fifty  gave  it  up.  The  snapping  of  their 
multitudinous  beaks  made  a  curious  rattling  noise,  and  the 
branches  of  the  trees  swayed  and  bent  beneath  their  weight 
as  though  they  would  break.  It  was  March  13,  a  week 
earlier  than  the  usual  date  for  their  arrival  in  Palestine, 
accounted  for  perhaps  by  this  being  an  unusually  warm 
spring.  It  interested  me  much  to  see  these  friendly  immi¬ 
grants,  faithful  to  their  old  country  in  the  day  of  her  ruin 
and  desolation.  They  are  several  times  mentioned  in  Scrip¬ 
ture,  and  Jeremiah  (viii.  7)  alludes  to  the  regularity  of  their 
return  in  that  pathetic  passage,  “  Yea,  the  stork  in  the  heaven 
knoweth  her  appointed  times ;  and  the  turtle  and  the  swallow 
and  the  crane  observe  the  time  of  their  coming ;  but  my 
people  know  not  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord/' 


CHAPTER  Vli 

FROM  SAMARIA  THROUGH  DOTHAN  TO  JENIN 

When  Hanna  came  to  us  next  morning  we  found  that  he 
was  suffering  from  rheumatism  in  the  legs.  However,  he 
managed  to  limp  along  and  show  us  something  of  the  ruins, 
Herod's  hippodrome  and  the  Street  of  Columns.  The  latter 
— a  colonnade  which  originally  made  the  circuit  of  the  hill 
— has  a  hundred  of  the  columns  still  standing,  besides  a 
multitude  lying  prostrate  where  they  fell.  It  affords  some 
notion  of  the  magnificence  in  which  Herod  indulged  when 
he  gave  rein  to  his  passion  for  building.  Few  places,  in¬ 
deed,  enable  one  better  to  realise  what  an  offence  these 
cities  of  the  Gentiles  who  u  exercised  lordship  over  them," 
must  have  been  to  the  devout  Jews.  Their  temples, 
their  theatres,  their  pagan  splendours  were  all  alien  and 
impious  and  hateful. 

About  half  way  round  the  hill  we  found  Mohammed 
waiting  for  us  with  the  horses,  and  turning  our  back  upon 
Samaria  we  took  our  way  northward  toward  Dothan.  The 
ride  is  not  one  which  has  impressed  itself  upon  my  memory 
except  as  extremely  hot  and  tiring.  Four  hours  of  scorching 
hillsides  and  stifling  wadis,  and  we  found  ourselves  at  the 
foot  of  Tell  Dothan,  that  same  “  mountain  "  of  Dothan  which 
we  read  of  as  “  full  of  horses  and  chariots  of  fire  round 
about  Elisha."  It  is  not  much  of  a  “  mountain,"  being  in 
fact  merely  a  green  mound  with  a  long  back,  on  the  top  of 
which  are  foundations  of  old  buildings.  At  the  foot  of  it 
ran  a  broad,  clear,  shallow  stream,  and  on  the  stream  was 
— horribile  dicta — a  mill  !  Yes  ;  in  this  venerable  place, 
where  Joseph’s  brethren  had  fed  their  flocks  and  Elisha 
had  been  besieged  by  the  Syrian  host,  a  steam  flour-mill 
was  puffing  and  snorting  and  rattling.  One  would  have 
preferred  silence.  At  the  same  time  the  mill  was  primitive 
enough  of  its  kind.  The  engine-fire  was  fed  with  wood, 
and  in  the  glare  of  the  furnace-room  one  could  see  the 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


38 

stoker  gliding  to  and  fro  in  oriental  petticoats — a  curious 
mixture  of  past  and  present. 

Mohammed  had  spread  our  lunch  in  an  orchard  across 
the  stream,  and  there  in  the  cool  shadow  of  the  fruit  trees 
we  stretched  our  weary  limbs  while  the  horses  were  tethered 
on  the  further  bank.  But  we  had  not  taken  many  mouthfuls 
when  the  usual  outbreak  of  equine  spite  commenced.  One  of 
the  horses,  seized  with  jealousy  of  his  neighbour,  commenced 
to  bite  and  kick  and  do  his  best  to  injure  the  object  of  his 
hatred.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  for  our  little  groom 
to  fetch  him  across  the  stream  and  tie  him  to  one  of  the 
trees.  Forthwith,  out  bounced  the  miller  and  fell  upon 
poor  Mohammed  tooth  and  nail,  pouring  upon  him  such  a 
volume  of  wicked  Arabic  that  the  humble  little  man  trembled 
in  every  limb.  The  torrent  of  abuse  slackening  a  little,  and 
the  violent  gesticulation  gradually  slowing  down,  Mohammed 
recovered  the  use  of  his  limbs,  took  the  offending  quadruped 
out  of  the  miller's  orchard ;  and  peace  was  once  more 
restored. 

Of  course  we  saw  Joseph's  Pit;  a  circular  cistern  in  the 
field  hard  by  the  miller's  orchard,  and  tried  hard  to  believe 
that  it  was  the  very  “  pit "  or  cistern  into  which  the  lad  was 
cast. 

At  two  o’clock  we  bade  farewell  to  the  irascible  miller,  and 
rode  in  the  fierce  heat  over  a  stony  track  along  a  stifling 
valley  ;  then  turning  sharply  to  the  left  came  into  a  wide 
valley  full  of  olive  trees.  Under  the  grateful  shade  of  these 
trees  we  rode  for  about  two  miles,  our  general  direction 
being  still  northward.  In  one  place  we  passed  a  very 
picturesque  group  about  a  village  well.  The  well  itself  was 
surrounded  by  a  low  wall,  and  around  it  were  gathered  a 
number  of  graceful  girls  clothed  in  bright  colours.  Some 
of  them  were  drawing  water  in  buckets  made  of  skin, 
attached  to  ropes  that  ran  in  grooves  which  years  of 
friction  had  cut  deep  into  the  stone.  Each  bucket  was 
drawn  by  two  girls.  They  had  no  winch,  but  raised  the 
water  by  a  direct  pull  upon  the  rope.  One  girl  pulls  as  high 
as  she  can,  and  then  lets  go.  The  other  catches  the  rope 
at  the  moment  that  the  first  one  drops  it.  And  so  they 
alternate,  first  one  pullingand  then  the  other,  until  the  bucket 
appears. 

Soon  after  four  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Jenin,  and  found  our 
camp  pitched  upon  a  grassy  slope  overlooking  this  beautiful 
town  with  its  picturesque  old  mosque.  The  Bible  name, 


SAMARIA  THROUGH  DOTHAN  TO  JENiN  39 

En-Gannim,  meaning  Fountain  of  Gardens,  is  as  suitable  to 
the  place  to-day  as  it  ever  was,  for  there  is  a  stream  here 
which,  running  from  the  hills  behind  the  village,  parts  into 
many  brooklets  and  makes  the  whole  place  luxuriant.  The 
white  houses  are  half  buried  in  beautiful  foliage,  from  the 
general  mass  of  which  palms  raise  their  stately  heads.  A 
range  of  distant  mountains,  the  mountains  of  Galilee,  form 
the  background  of  the  view  ;  behind  all  rises  the  snowy  head 
of  Hermon. 

Although  Jenin  is  not  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament, 
it  is  not  altogether  without  interest  in  relation  to  Christ's 
life,  for  the  road  between  Nazareth  and  Jerusalem  always 
passed  this  way,  and  it  must  often  have  been  His  halting- 
place  in  His  journeys  to  and  fro  between  Galilee  and  Judaea. 
“  It  was  the  custom  of  the  Galileans,"  says  Josephus,  “  when 
they  came  to  the  holy  city  at  the  festivals,  to  take  their 
journeys  through  the  country  of  the  Samaritans,  and  at  this 
time  there  lay,  in  the  road  they  took,  a  village  that  was 
called  Ginea  (Jenin),  which  was  situated  in  the  limits  of 
Samaria  and  the  Great  Plain."  * 

It  is  true  that  there  were  alternative  routes  on  the  east  of 
Jordan,  recrossing  by  one  of  the  fords  in  Judaea  ;  it  was,  in 
fact,  by  one  of  those  routes  that  Jesus  travelled  to  His  death. 
But  to  take  one  of  those  eastern  roads  necessarily  meant  a 
much  longer  journey  ;  it  is  remarked  elsewhere  by  Josephus 
that  “  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  those  that  go  quickly 
'to  Jerusalem]  to  pass  through  that  country  [of  Samaria], 
"or  in  that  road  you  may,  in  three  days’  time,  go  from 
Galilee  to  Jerusalem."  f  The  principal  reason  for  taking  the 
longer  route  would  probably  be  to  avoid  those  recurrent 
border-fights  between  Galileans  and  Samaritans  which 
Josephus  mentions,  and  one  of  which  he  describes  as  taking 
place  at  this  very  town  of  Ginea.  Ordinarily  the  people  of 
Galilee  would  travel  to  the  feasts  at  Jerusalem  by  this  road 
through  Jenin,  but  when  the  country  was  disturbed  peace¬ 
able  folk  would  prefer  the  eastern  route. 

I  wonder  whether  Jesus  did  not  choose  the  Jordan  Valley 
for  His  last  journey  to  Jerusalem  with  the  express  purpose 
of  avoiding  the  risk  of  those  brawls  which  would  have  been 
fatal  to  the  purpose  of  His  mission  ?  It  is  usually  said  that 
He  chose  that  route  to  avoid  notice,  but  remembering  how 

*  “  Antiq.”  xx.  vi.  1.  The  situation  of  Ginea  is  also  described  in 
“  Wars,”  iii.  iii.  4. 

t  “  Life,”  sec.  52.  Whiston’s  translation. 


4o 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


populous  Perasa  was  at  that  time,  the  other  seems  to  me  to 
be  a  more  likely  motive.  When  we  call  to  mind  the 
Galilean  notion  of  a  Messiah,  that  He  was  to  head  their 
faction-fights  and  their  religious  wars  ;  and  when  we 
remember  how  persistent  Jesus  was  in  His  warnings  to  His 
disciples  that  His  Messiahship  was  of  another  kind,  a 
suffering  Messiahship,  how  “  He  charged  them  that  they 
should  tell  no  man  of  Him,"  we  can  understand  that  to 
come  upon  a  party  of  excited  Galileans  contending  with 
Samaritans  at  this  border-town  of  theirs  might  have  meant 
the  fury  of  His  own  countrymen  if  He  refused  to  head 
them,  and  so  a  premature  martyrdom  and  the  frustration  of 
the  whole  design  with  which  He  set  out  for  Jerusalem — the 
proclamation  of  a  spiritual  Messiahship. 

The  “  Great  Plain"  mentioned  by  Josephus  in  the 
passage  quoted  above  is,  of  course,  the  historic  Plain  of 
Esdraelon,  which  stretches  away  beyond  the  northern 
limits  of  the  town.  For  we  are  now  upon  the  frontier-line 
of  Galilee,  and  nestled  among  the  distant  hills  which  lie 
beyond  the  Great  Plain,  a  lovely  background  to  the  scene 
which  is  displayed  before  us,  there  reposes,  though  unseen 
as  yet,  the  long-loved  Nazareth. 

It  is  a  lovely  picture  upon  which  we  are  looking.  At  the 
foot  of  the  grassy  slope  upon  which  our  tents  are  pitched  a 
path  runs  from  right  to  left,  along  which  men  and  women 
dressed  in  brilliant  hues  pass  to  and  fro.  The  path  is 
bordered  on  the  further  side  by  a  hedge  of  prickly  pear,  and 
beyond  this  are  gardens  upon  gardens.  Little  children  in 
yellow,  white,  blue,  red,  are  playing  merry  games  on  the 
greensward  near  us  with  shouts  and  laughter.  And  now  it 
is  six  o'clock.  From  the  minaret  which  rises  white  and  tall 
amid  the  gardens,  higher  than  the  palms,  higher  than  the 
distant  line  of  hills,  cutting  with  its  slim  line  the  clear  blue 
of  the  evening  sky,  there  sounds  the  distant  chant  of  the 
Muezzin.  In  a  moment  the  games  of  the  children  cease,  all 
with  one  consent  turn  their  faces  to  the  town  and  scamper 
down  the  slopes  to  their  homes  in  the  beautiful  town,  and  a 
great  quiet  falls  over  all  the  scene.  Then  the  soldiers 
arrive  from  the  Kaimmakam,  and  mount  guard  over  our 
tents,  and  the  piercing  stars  come  out,  and  in  due  time  we 
turn  in,  and  the  tent-door  is  buttoned  up  by  our  solemn¬ 
faced  waiter. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FROM  JENlN  THROUGH  NAIN  TO  NAZARETH 

It  was  the  habit  of  our  dragoman  to  secure  soldiers  to  act 
as  our  sentries  whenever  he  could  get  them.  When  this  was 
not  possible  he  employed  two  villagers,  generally  the  sheikh 
of  the  village  and  some  other  responsible  inhabitant.  The 
soldiers  have  a  practice  of  whistling  to  each  other  at  intervals 
throughout  the  night — just  a  single  low  whistle,  but  rather 
disturbing  to  light  sleepers — while  the  fellahin  often  keep 
themselves  awake  by  singing  their  monotonous  mournful 
chants  by  the  hour  together.  Add  to  these  disturbances  the 
barking  of  village  dogs  and  the  howl  of  jackals,  and  it  will 
be  understood  that  a  Palestine  traveller  needs  to  be  a 
preternaturally  sound  sleeper  if  he  is  to  rise  refreshed. 

However,  the  troubles  of  the  night  were  soon  forgotten 
in  the  thought  that  to-day's  journey  would  bring  us  to  one 
of  the  most  deeply  desired  objects  of  our  journey — the 
mountain  village  of  Nazareth. 

Midway  between  Jenin  and  Nazareth,  upon  the  slope  of 
Mount  Gilboa,  just  where  that  mountain-range  thrusts  a 
spur  into  the  midst  of  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon  stands  Zerin, 
the  Jezreel  of  Scripture  story  ;  and  it  was  to  this  village  that 
our  way  was  now  directed.  The  great  stretch  of  level  land 
through  which  we  rode  was  busy  with  ploughs,  each  plough 
being  drawn  by  a  yoke  of  small  black  oxen,  and  closely 
followed  by  a  man  or  woman  who  dropped  the  seed  carefully 
into  the  furrow  by  hand.  The  ploughman  paid  little  heed 
to  the  great  blocks  of  loose  stone  which  were  scattered  over 
the  surface,  for  they  do  not  care  about  a  straight  furrow  as 
an  English  ploughman  does.  Though  it  is  stony,  the  soil  of 
Esdraelon  is  wonderfully  deep  and  fertile,  reddish  in  hue, 
suggesting  to  the  fancy  that  sea  of  blood  which  both  in 
ancient  and  modern  times  has  been  poured  out  on  this  great 
battlefield  of  Palestine. 

As  we  approached  Zerin,  there  rose  upon  our  right  the 


42 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


desolate  uplands  where  Saul  and  his  three  sons  fought 
their  last  battle.  Saul,  we  read,  had  pitched  his  camp 
“  by  the  fountain  that  is  in  Jezreel.”  The  fountain  is  still 
there,  known  now  as  Ain-el-Meiyiteh,  or  the  Dead  Well* 
and  in  appearance  and  surroundings  it  certainly  answers 
to  its  name.  It  is  a  ragged  hole  girt  by  shapeless  blocks 
of  limestone  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  bleak  and  barren  moor. 
No  human  being  was  in  sight  as  I  stood  there,  save  one 
old  woman  who  wept  beside  it  over  the  loss  of  her  goat¬ 
skin  bucket  which  had  slipped  into  the  water.  A  rough- 
coated  and  dejected  ass  meditated  among  the  dry  scrub  near 
by,  and  a  vulture  scenting  out  some  carrion  wheeled  slowly 
round  beneath  the  staring  sun.  Looking  northward  I  could 
see,  at  a  distance  of  some  half-dozen  miles,  a  rise  of  broken 
land  which  there  invades  the  Great  Plain.  Among  those 
low  hills  there  nestles  a  village  known  as  Endor.  For  thirty 
centuries  it  has  kept  its  name  unaltered.  On  the  night 
before  the  Battle  of  Gilboa,  when  darkness  had  fallen  upon 
the  camp,  the  wretched  king  stole  from  his  tent  pitched 
beside  this  well,  and  in  breach  of  his  own  laws  crept  across 
yonder  plain  to  the  witch-woman  in  that  same  village  to  ask 
his  fate.  The  rival  fountain  Ain  Jalud,  which  is  more 
commonly  identified  with  the  “Fountain  of  Jezreel,”  is  a 
more  picturesque  and  striking  spot  than  this,  and  it  is  not 
wonderful  that  it  should  have  been  selected  as  the  scene  of 
so  famous  a  tragedy,  but  the  Dead  Well  at  the  foot  of  Gilboa 
fits  far  better  with  the  Scripture  account  of  the  battle. 

The  view  from  Zerin  is  beautiful.  Across  the  Plain  of 
Jezreel  to  the  north  rises  the  hill,  easily  recognised  by  its 
peculiar  shape,  in  which  Nazareth  is  embosomed.  Westward 
stretches  the  range  of  Carmel.  The  general  aspect  is  one  of 
fertility,  which  makes  the  barrenness  of  the  heights  above  us 
all  the  more  striking  by  contrast.  One  might  almost  fancy 
that  the  curse  which  David  uttered  in  his  passionate  lament 
for  Saul  and  Jonathan,  “Ye  mountains  of  Gilboa,  let  there 
be  no  dew,  neither  let  there  be  rain  upon  you,"  had  literally 
blasted  the  mountain,  so  dry  and  hopeless  it  appears. 

Yet  these  stony  and  withered  slopes  were  once  clothed 
with  vines,  and  just  below  the  spot  where  we  have  halted 
Naboth  used  lovingly  to  tend  that  little  vineyard  which  has 
become  a  proverb  in  every  mouth.  For  that  other  tragedy, 
the  judgment  upon  Ahab  and  Jezebel,  was  enacted  close  to 

*  So  Cheyne,  relying  upon  an  amended  text.  See  “Encycl.  Bibl.’;  art. 
“  Harod.” 


THROUGH  NAIN  TO  NAZARETH 


43 

the  place  where  we  were  standing.  Here  it  was  that  Ahab, 
brought  face  to  face  with  Elijah,  cried  :  “  Hast  thou  found 
me,  O  mine  enemy  ?  ”  Here  rose  the  tower  on  which  the 
watchman  stood  “  and  spied  the  company  of  Jehu  as  he 
came."  Here  Joram  the  son  of  Ahab  was  pierced  to  the 
heart  by  Jehu's  arrow,  and  his  body  cast  “into  the  plot  of 
ground  of  Naboth  the  Jezreelite."  And  here  at  the  foot  of 
the  city  wall  was  fulfilled  “  the  word  of  the  Lord,  which  He 
spake  by  his  servant  Elijah  the  Tishbite,  saying:  *  In  the 
portion  of  Jezreel  shall  the  dogs  eat  the  flesh  of  Jezebel.'  " 

As  for  Ain  Jalud,  we  passed  that  soon  after  leaving 
Jezreel.  It  is  a  most  beautiful  spring.  On  our  right  as  we 
rode  was  a  rocky  cliff,  at  the  base  of  which  yawned  a  dark 
cave  from  which  the  waters  flowed.  The  stream  issuing 
from  this  cave  immediately  spread  itself  into  a  broad  and 
shallow  pool  as  clear  as  crystal  and  forty  or  fifty  feet  in 
diameter.  I  was  admiring  the  beauty  of  the  spot  as  our 
horses  plashed  their  way  through,  when  Hanna  turned  his 
head  and  shouted,  “Gideon's  Fountain  !''  We  had  already 
become  so  much  accustomed  to  hear  all  kinds  of  places 
associated  with  all  kinds  of  patriarchs  and  heroes  that  we 
paid  little  attention  at  the  moment,  whereby  we  lost  the 
chance  of  an  emotion,  for  it  is  generally  agreed  that  this 
is  indeed  the  veritable  spot  where  the  three  hundred  men 
who  “  lapped  the  water  with  the  tongue  as  a  dog  lappeth  " 
were  selected  to  deliver  Israel  from  the  Midianites. 

In  order  to  show  us  Ain  Jalud,  Hanna  had  made  a  slight 
detour.  He  now  led  us  across  the  plain  to  Nain,  which  is 
five  or  six  miles  distant,  passing  on  the  way  the  village  of 
Sulem,  dear  to  the  memory  of  childhood  from  its  being  the 
scene  of  the  story  of  Elisha  and  the  Shunamite  woman. 

Of  Nain  I  wished  to  take  something  like  careful  note,  so 
we  made  our  mid-day  halt  there.  After  we  had  lunched  in 
the  cool  shadow  cast  by  the  wall  of  the  Franciscan  chapel, 
the  sheikh  of  the  little  village  undertook  to  guide  me  to  the 
“unfenced  burial-place"  mentioned  by  Edersheim  as  lying 
to  the  east  of  the  village.  My  desire  of  course  was  to 
realise  the  scene  described  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  and 
certainly  the  spot  to  which  I  was  conducted  corresponded 
in  a  striking  manner  with  the  details  of  the  story. 

The  ancient  tombs  (Fig.  6)  were  reached  by  walking 
eastward  across  a  level  stretch  of  rough  herbage  and  then 
taking  a  few  steps  up  the  hillside.  They  are  barely  ten 
minutes'  walk  from  the  present  village.  The  position  of 


44 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  tombs  may  be  diagrammatically  represented  as 
follows  : 

N 

a 

W - 


S 

The  north-east  road  which  comes  from  the  lake  shore 
past  Tell  Hum  and  Khan  Minyeh  (rival  sites  for  Caper¬ 
naum)  and  through  el-Mejdel  (Magdala),  is  the  one  which 
Jesus  and  His  disciples  would,  according  to  the  story,  have 
travelled.  As  they  approached  the  village  they  met  the 
funeral  procession  of  the  widow’s  son  issuing  thence 
towards  these  tombs,  which  lie  upon  the  south-east  road. 
Thus  Tristram  and  Edersheim  are  plainly  right  in  their 
locality,  as  against  Stanley,  Conder,  and  Farrar,  who  find 
the  tombs  on  the  west  of  the  village.* 

From  Nain  we  again  descended  into  the  Plain  of 
Esdraelon,  across  which  we  rode  northward  for  the  space 
of  about  an  hour.  Most  travellers,  I  suppose,  are  sur¬ 
prised  at  the  height  and  the  abruptness  of  the  hill  upon 
which  Nazareth  is  situated.  It  may  without  exaggeration 
be  termed  a  mountain.  One  is  accustomed  to  picture 
Nazareth  as  a  little  rustic  village  nestling  in  the  hollow  of  a 
gentle  upland,  instead  of  which  we  found  ourselves 
approaching  a  bold  and  somewhat  fantastic  cliff  from 
which  the  Nazarenes  might  look  abroad  over  half  the  land 
of  Palestine.  The  town  itself  we  could  not  yet  see,  though 
there  is  a  growing  village  gleaming  white  upon  the  nearer 
ridge,  which  travellers  often  mistake  for  it.  Nazareth  lies  in 
a  hollow  behind  and  below  the  lofty  rampart  which  forms 
the  southern  edge  of  the  mountain. 

As  we  drew  still  nearer  and  began  to  traverse  the  gentle 
slope  which  leads  to  the  foot  of  the  steep  ascent,  I  was  much 
struck  with  the  gorgeous  effect  of  the  dark  blue  lupines 

*  I  assume  that  the  account  of  the  “miracle  ”  is  based  upon  a  real 
incident.  The  tombs  are  very  ancient  rock-cut  tombs,  which  I  should 
have  supposed  to  belong  to  a  period  much  earlier  than  the  Christian 
era  ;  but  upon  this  point  I  find  no  pronouncement  by  any  archaeologist. 
Dr.  Ramsay  (quoted  in  Sanday’s  “  Sacred  Sites,”  p.  ioi)  holds  that  the 
ancient  city  did  not  occupy  the  same  site  as  the  modern  village,  but 
was  on  the  top  of  the  hill. 


FIG.  5. — RESTING  PLACE  ON  MOUNT  GERIZIM 


FIG  6.— TOMB  AT  NAIN 


THROUGH  NAIN  TO  NAZARETH 


45 

in  full  flower.  In  one  place  was  a  great  mass,  an  acre  or 
more  in  extent,  the  magnificence  of  which  almost  took  away 
one's  breath,  and  there  were  many  similar  patches. 

Then,  turning  to  the  left,  we  skirted  the  base  of  the 
mountain  until  we  reached  the  road  which  climbs  the 
western  side  by  a  series  of  zig-zags.  It  was  weary  work 
pacing  to  and  fro  from  west  to  east  and  east  to  west,  rising 
by  slow  degrees  towards  the  ridge  above  us  ;  but  we  forgot 
the  fatigue  in  the  excitement  of  knowing  that  when  we  reached 
the  crest  we  should  look  down  upon  the  goal  of  so  many 
dreams — the  little  town  where  the  childhood  of  Jesus  was 
spent — one  of  the  few  sacred  spots  which  we  can  with  some 
confidence  associate  with  the  life  of  the  beloved  Master.* 

And  now  we  crossed  the  lip  of  the  great  cup  in  which 
Nazareth  lies  and  began  to  drop  toward  the  town.  On  our 
right  near  the  bottom  of  the  descent  we  passed  the  thresh¬ 
ing-floor,  where  travellers  often  encamp.  It  is  a  bare,  dusty 
place,  hot  and  low,  and  we  were  glad  to  find  that  our 
pioneers  had  succeeded  in  getting  a  better  pitch  for  us — an 
orchard  situated  on  the  south-eastern  side  of  the  cup,  high 
up  the  slope  and  facing  the  main  mass  of  the  habitations. 

A  better  spot  we  could  not  have  had  for  viewing  the  town 
in  its  entirety,  for  there  it  lay  spread  before  us  fan-wise  on 
the  opposite  slope,  built  terrace  above  terrace  in  the  scoop 
of  the  mountain  like  the  seats  in  a  Roman  theatre,  and  scored 
through  here  and  there  by  miniature  wadis,  down  which 
the  water  doubtless  courses  impetuously  in  the  rainy  season. 

The  first  view  of  it,  I  must  confess,  is  disappointing.  It 
is  a  Christian  town,  and  like  most  of  the  Christian  towns  is 
progressive,  and  thinks  it  becoming  therefore  to  imitate  the 
West.  Consequently  there  are  many  houses  to  be  seen  of 
European  form,  with  red  tiles  and  sloping  roofs,  and  this 
detracts  from  the  antique  and  oriental  character  which  one 
would  fain  associate  with  this  place  of  all  others.  More¬ 
over,  the  town  is  a  growing  one.  It  contains  about  ten 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  houses  are  still  building.  This 
adds  to  the  newness  of  its  appearance,  especially  in  its 
upper  part ;  and  it  is  not  until  you  get  into  the  narrow 
streets  among  the  dark  faces  and  Eastern  costumes  that  you 
can  recover  the  Oriental  feeling.  However,  we  are  in 
Nazareth  ;  and  here  we  may  rest,  deferring  to  another  day 
a  closer  acquaintance  with  its  topography  and  traditions. 

*  A  doubt  is  thrown  even  upon  this  site  by  Canon  Cheyne  in  his 
article  “Nazareth,”  in  the  “  Encycl.  Bibl.”  On  this  question  see 
Appendix  A. 


CHAPTER  IX 


AN  EXCURSION  TO  BETHLEHEM  OF  GALILEE 

At  last  we  were  in  Nazareth,  and  yet  when  morning  dawned 
I  decided  to  put  off  for  the  present  any  nearer  view  of  the 
town  than  that  which  our  camp  afforded.  For  to-day  was 
Saturday,  and,  if  Hanna  was  to  get  his  Sunday's  rest  to¬ 
morrow,  an  excursion  upon  which  I  had  set  my  heart  must 
be  made  at  once. 

The  excursion  to  which  I  refer  was  to  the  little  village  of 
Bet-Lahm,  the  modern  representative  of  “  Bethlehem,  a 
city  of  Zebulon,"  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Joshua.  My 
interest  in  this  place  arose  from  the  theory  put  forward  by 
some  recent  writers  that  this,  and  not  Bethlehem  of  Judaea, 
was  the  true  birthplace  of  Jesus.  The  argument  for  that 
view  is,  briefly,  as  follows :  An  obscure  phrase  occurs  in  the 
Talmud  which  may  be  read  “  Bethlehem  Noseriyyah/'  i.e., 
Bethlehem  near  Nazareth.  Suppose,  then,  that  this  was  the 
name  by  which  Bethlehem  of  Zebulon  came  to  be  known, 
and  suppose  that  in  the  earliest  form  of  the  evangelical 
tradition  Jesus  was  stated  to  have  been  born  at  this 
Bethlehem-Nazareth,  we  can  understand  that  a  two-fold 
tradition  might  arise ;  sometimes  the  inheritors  of  the 
tradition  would  say  He  was  born  at  Bethlehem  and  some¬ 
times  at  Nazareth.  The  next  step  would  be  the  transfer¬ 
ence  to  the  better-known  Bethlehem,  near  to  Jerusalem  ; 
and  it  may  thus  have  come  about  that  we  have  the  story  of 
the  birth  at  Bethlehem-Judah  alongside  the  oft-repeated 
title  “  Jesus  of  Nazareth.”  * 

Without  discussing  the  theory  here,  I  may  say  that  proba¬ 
bility  on  the  whole  seems  rather  to  incline  to  the  view  that 
Nazareth  was  the  birthplace  of  Jesus,  and  that  the  Bethlehem 
of  the  birth-stories  was  imagined  and  adopted  in  fulfilment 
of  definite  Rabbinic  teaching,  which  is  known  to  have 
existed,  that  the  Messiah  would  be  born  in  Bethlehem  of 

*  See  more  fully  in  Appendix  B. 


AN  EXCURSION  TO  BETHLEHEM 


47 


Judaea.  Nevertheless  the  theory  that  Jesus  was  born  in  the 
northern  Bethlehem  carries  with  it  sufficient  probability  to 
make  a  visit  to  that  village  of  interest  to  a  New  Testament 
student.  Accordingly  I  left  my  fellow-traveller  to  wander 
alone  through  the  streets  of  Nazareth,  and  took  Hanna  with 
me  to  seek  out  this  little-known  place. 

Hanna  declared  that  he  had  never  heard  of  such  a  village 
much  less  been  there,  so  he  had  to  find  his  way  by  question¬ 
ing  the  peasants  and  others  whom  we  passed.  By  good 
luck  we  took  the  shortest  route,  the  distance  to  ride  being 
about  ten  miles  each  way,  although  as  the  crow  flies  it  would 
perhaps  be  not  much  more  than  seven. 

The  ride  was  through  a  beautiful  region,  more  like  an 
English  country-side  than  any  we  had  yet  seen.  First  we 
went  down  the  mountain-side  by  the  same  road  as  we  had 
ascended  the  night  before,  and  then  for  some  distance 
followed  the  highway  leading  to  Haifa.  At  length,  turning 
into  a  field-path  to  the  right,  we  traversed  for  some  miles  a 
stretch  of  rich  arable  land.  Great  herds  of  black  cattle 
were  being  driven  single  file  along  the  narrow  track  between 
fields.  Shepherd  boys  were  followed  by  flocks  of  goats  and 
sheep.  Men  with  bare  legs  and  feet  and  wearing  cotton 
shirts  open  to  the  waist,  which  showed  their  naked  bodies, 
were  ploughing  with  oxen  and  with  camels.  Nowand  then 
we  met  a  man  carrying  home  his  wooden  plough  over  his 
shoulder,  after  finishing  his  work.  We  crossed  a  stream 
and  found  ourselves  surrounded  by  extensive  woods  of 
what  Hanna  called  “  wild  oak.”  A  specimen  which  I 
brought  home  has  been  identified  as  Quercus  coccifera — a 
tree  whose  growth  is  much  like  that  of  our  English  oak,  but 
whose  leaf  is  somewhat  different. 

Shortly  before  reaching  the  village  we  came  to  a  spring 
where  girls  were  drawing  water  in  pitchers  and  women 
were  washing  clothes.  The  women  had  lighted  a  fire  on 
the  ground  and  were  boiling  the  clothes  in  a  cauldron. 
They  were  natives  of  Bethlehem,  they  said,  and  had  to  come 
to  this  spring  for  all  their  water  ;  it  is  a  good  step  from  the 
village — a  quarter  of  a  mile,  or  perhaps  more.  Their 
dresses  were  of  white  cotton,  made  with  tight  sleeves  and 
confined  at  the  waist  by  a  sash,  the  skirt  coming  a  little 
below  the  knee  and  showing  the  baggy  Turkish  trousers 
made  of  some  darker  stuff.  The  top  of  the  head  was 
exposed,  but  the  back  of  the  head  and  neck  carefully  pro¬ 
tected  by  a  handkerchief  knotted  beneath  the  chin. 


48 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Bethlehem  of  Galilee  is  a  miserable  little  place  now — just 
a  group  of  poor  hovels,  one  or  two  built  of  stone  from  the 
adjacent  ruins,  but  mostly  made  of  mud.  The  view,  how¬ 
ever,  which  is  seen  from  the  village  is  extremely  beautiful, 
whichever  way  one  turns.  On  the  south-west  rises  the  long 
range  of  Carmel — the  Place  of  Sacrifice  standing  up  pro¬ 
minent  and  noticeable  above  the  general  level  of  the  ridge. 
From  the  south-west  to  the  south-east  extend  the  blue  hills 
of  Samaria  ;  *  on  the  hither  side  of  them  the  immense  Plain 
of  Esdraelon,  at  present  mostly  of  a  bright  green  (almost 
yellow)  with  the  young  wheat,  but  showing  also  considerable 
tracts  of  dark  red  soil  just  turned  up  by  the  plough  ;  nearer 
still,  a  belt  of  slightly  undulating  ground  sloping  down  from 
the  village  to  the  plain  and  thickly  clothed  with  oak-woods 
of  a  fresh  and  tender  green.  Turning,  next,  to  the  east,  one 
faces  a  mountain-mass,  part  of  the  highlands  of  Galilee  ;  the 
nearest  being  the  low  hills  up  which  the  road  to  Nazareth 
winds.  Nazareth  itself  we  cannot  see,  nor  yet  the  height 
upon  which  Nazareth  is  built,  these  lower  hills  being  near 
enough  to  hide  it. 

I  lunched  beneath  a  great  spreading  tree,  and  then  explored 
the  place  under  the  guidance  of  an  elderly  native  whom 
Hanna  engaged  for  the  task.  Bethlehem  must  at  one  time 
have  been  a  place  of  some  importance,  for  numbers  of 
square  stones  and  prostrate  columns  lie  around,  covering  a 
large  area.  Guerin  f  mentions  the  ruins  of  two  buildings,  a 
synagogue  and  a  church,  the  former  lying  north  and  south, 
the  latter  oriented  east  and  west.  The  synagogue,  which 
Guerin  describes  as  “presque  completement  demob,”  I  have 
no  doubt  is  to  be  identified  with  the  scanty  remains  to  the 
east  of  the  village,  where  I  found  the  bases  of  five  round 
pillars  set  in  a  row  seven  feet  apart,  the  section  of  each 
pillar  being  two  feet  in  diameter.  As  to  the  church,  I  was 
not  aware  till  afterwards  that  its  ruins  had  existed,  and  I 
should  think  that,  as  in  so  many  other  places,  the  fellahin 
have  carried  off  most  of  the  stones  to  build  their  houses 
since  Guerin  was  there,  but  it  may  account  for  some  of  the 
cryptic  pits  and  tunnels  the  origin  of  which  I  could  not 
guess.  One  of  these  is  a  square  pit,  lying  to  the  west  of  the 
synagogue,  the  sides  being  lined  with  large  squared  stones. 
At  the  bottom  is  seen  the  opening  of  a  passage,  which,  my 
Arab  guide  explained  by  gestures,  led  underground  for  an 
unknown  distance  ;  he  pointed  far  away  to  the  blue  hills. 

*  See  Frontispiece.  f  “  La  Palestine,”  tome  i.  (Galilee)  p.  393. 


AN  EXCURSION  TO  BETHLEHEM 


49 


Such  stories  are,  of  course,  very  commonly  attached  to  any 
unexplored  tunnel.  Between  this  and  the  village  lay  another 
shorter  tunnel  or  arch,  lined  with  trimmed  stones  of  some 
size,  several  which  I  measured  were  two  feet  long  by  fifteen 
inches  high  and  twelve  inches  deep. 

As  is  very  commonly  the  case  in  Palestine,  there  is  a  place 
just  outside  the  village  where  the  people  store  their  corn  . 
It  is  a  bare  dusty  mound,  on  the  top  of  which  are  holes 
opening  down  into  pits.  In  the  case  of  Bethlehem  this 
also  showed,  if  I  remember  rightly,  traces  of  being  a  buried 
ruin. 

We  returned  to  Nazareth  by  the  road  which  had  brought 
us  there.  Had  I  been  physically  fit,  my  observations  might 
have  been  more  adequate  ;  but  ills  of  the  flesh,  from  which 
I  had  long  been  suffering,  rendered  riding  painful  and 
walking  almost  impossible. 


D 


CHAPTER  X 

A  SUNDAY  IN  NAZARETH 

Assuming  Nazareth  to  have  been,  if  not  the  birthplace,  at 
least  the  foster-home  of  Jesus,  the  ancient  synagogue  must 
be  for  us  a  spot  of  the  deepest  interest,  for,  in  that  case,  it 
was  here  that  He  received  His  schooling  and  here  that  He 
worshipped  with  His  parents.  Moreover,  there  is  the  story 
told  by  St.  Luke  of  His  having  preached  here  in  His  early 
ministry. 

Once  more,  however,  we  have  to  lament  the  doubt  in 
which  so  many  Bible  sites  are  clouded.  All  that  we  can  say 
for  certain  is  that  the  church  of  the  United  Greeks  stands 
upon  the  site  (Fig.  7)  of  a  very  ancient  synagogue  ;  and 
that  there  is  a  tradition,  dating  back  to  the  sixth  century, 
that  it  was  in  this  synagogue  that  Jesus  preached  His  me¬ 
morable  sermon.  But  this  is  something,  sufficient,  at  any 
rate,  to  make  it  worth  our  while  to  visit  the  spot.  Accord¬ 
ingly,  we  engaged  the  local  guide,  an  Albino,  to  take  us 
there. 

A  service  was  just  over  when  we  reached  the  building,  and 
round  about  the  entrance  was  a  crowd  of  women  and  girls, 
clean  and  happy-looking,  with  merry  eyes,  and  smiles  that 
showed  their  white  teeth.  Their  features  were  regular  and 
very  pleasing,  their  faces  unveiled,  their  expression  frank 
and  open.  Their  heads  were,  for  the  most  part,  wrapped 
in  some  gay  kerchief,  and  their  foreheads  adorned  with  a 
string  of  coins — those  “  pieces  of  silver”  of  which  Jesus 
spoke  in  His  parable.  Truly  the  Christian  girls  of  Nazareth, 
like  those  of  Bethlehem  in  the  south,  testify  by  their 
appearance  to  the  healthy  influence  of  the  social  freedom 
which  they  possess  in  a  far  greater  degree  than  their  Moslem 
sisters. 

As  to  the  church  itself,  it  appears  to  be  almost  entirely 
new,  and  there  can  be  but  the  merest  fragment  of  the 
ancient  synagogue  left.  Its  position  is,  however,  a  point  of 


FIG.  7. — GREEK  CHURCH  AT  NAZARETH 


FIG.  8.— ST.  MARY’S  WELL  AT  NAZARETH 


A  SUNDAY  IN  NAZARETH 


5i 

some  interest  ;  for,  if  this  was  the  synagogue  in  which  Jesus 
preached  the  sermon  which  aroused  the  fury  of  His  fellow- 
townsmen,  we  must  look  hereabout  for  the  true  Rock  of 
Precipitation. 

The  traditional  cliff  is  the  great  mountain-edge  to  the 
south  of  the  town,  overlooking  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon.  But 
this  is  an  altogether  preposterous  idea.  It  is  based  upon 
the  very  common  notion  that  a  great  event  must  happen  on 
a  great  mountain,  or  in  a  great  city,  or  be  in  some  other  way 
physically  prominent.  Assuming,  however,  the  Greek 
church  to  stand  upon  the  site  of  the  ancient  synagogue, 
then  the  Rock  of  Precipitation  is  doubtless  the  cliff  behind 
the  Maronite  convent.  This  rock  is  scarcely  more  than  a 
stone's  throw  from  the  old  synagogue.  It  has  a  sheer  drop 
of  about  thirty  feet.  At  the  present  time  private  gardens 
extend  to  the  foot  of  it,  but  its  summit  is  easily  accessible  ; 
and  a  few  steps  up  the  hillside  enabled  us  to  stand  on  the 
spot  whence,  according  to  the  Gospel  story,  the  mob  desired 
to  hurl  the  heretic  prophet. 

Our  guide  now  remarked  that  he  wished  to  go  to  his 
church  ;  so  he  showed  us,  at  our  request,  the  path  which  we 
must  follow  to  gain  the  hill  behind  the  town  whence  that 
famous  view,  so  finely  described  by  Keim,  could  be  obtained, 
and  left  us  to  take  our  way  alone.  We  were  glad,  indeed, 
to  be  released  from  the  constant  attendance  which  Pales¬ 
tine  travel  involves  ;  and  in  this  Christian  town  of  Nazareth, 
where  there  was  less  risk  of  molestation  than  elsewhere,  it 
was  a  relief  to  be  allowed  to  meditate  in  solitude  and  quiet 
upon  the  great  past,  of  which  the  scenes  around  us  so 
eloquently  spoke.  So  we  climbed  in  the  sweltering  heat  to 
the  ridge  on  the  north  of  the  town,  and  rested  in  the  shadow 
of  a  half-covered  shrine — one  of  those  “  sheikhs'  tombs  " 
which  crown  half  the  hill-tops  in  the  land. 

It  is  cooler  here,  for  the  least  bit  of  shadow  always  gives 
a  refreshing  air.  In  the  sun  it  is  intolerable,  but  here  in  the 
shade  my  pocket  thermometer  shows  only  58°,  and  the 
gentle  breath  which  fans  us  makes  one  realise  what  was 
meant  by  “the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land.” 

We  are  sitting  with  our  backs  against  the  wall  of  the 
“tomb"  and  looking  westward.  Straight  before  us  is  the 
long  ridge  of  Carmel,  with  Elijah's  “  Place  of  Sacrifice," 
rising  boldly  above  the  general  level  at  its  nearer  extremity. 
At  the  other  extremity  we  see  Haifa,  a  white  cluster  of  houses 
nestling  beneath  the  hill  and  facing  the  blue  sea,  which  is 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


52 

marked  off  from  the  land  by  a  long  white  line  stretching 
from  Haifa  northward.  It  is  in  reality  a  line  of  low  sand¬ 
hills,  though  seen  from  this  height  it  might  be  taken  for  a 
fringe  of  surf.  On  our  left  hand  as  we  are  now  facing  we 
see  a  long  undulating  range — the  hills  of  Samaria,  dim  in  a 
heavy  heat-mist. 

If  we  rise  from  our  lowly  seat  and  stand  with  our  faces  to 
the  south,  we  see  directly  below  us  the  hollow  in  which 
Nazareth  lies ;  beyond  that,  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  a  vast 
expanse  of  green  with  patches  of  dark  earth  ;  and  if  we  step 
out  of  the  shadow  of  the  building,  and  turn  to  the  south¬ 
east,  we  are  confronted  by  Little  Hermon  and  Mount  Gilboa, 
two  short  ranges  which  divide  the  eastern  part  of  the  plain 
into  three  strips  of  low-lying  ground  which  run  down  to  the 
valley  of  the  Jordan.  Turn  the  head  a  little  more  till  you 
face  due  east,  and  there,  beyond  the  Nazareth  range,  Tabor 
thrusts  up  his  round  and  shaggy  head ;  beyond  him  lies  the 
deep  depression  in  which  the  Jordan  runs,  and  dim  in  the 
hot  distance  are  the  lofty  mountains  of  Gilead  and  Bashan, 
standing  up  to-day  like  a  gigantic  blue  wall,  a  noble  back¬ 
ground  to  the  picture. 

To  the  north  of  our  position  the  view  is  more  confined. 
There  is  no  great  plain,  or  deep  valley,  only  a  huge  moun¬ 
tain  mass,  ill-defined  and  featureless.  One  noble  object 
alone  meets  the  gaze  in  this  direction,  the  solemn  height  of 
Hermon,  rising  high  above  this  stony  and  barren  confusion 
and  crowned  to-day  by  a  cloud  which  rests  lightly  on  his 
snowy  head.  Perhaps  the  prospect  might  be  wider  and  the 
hills  separate  themselves  into  successive  ranks,  were  it  not 
for  this  haze  which  hangs  so  heavy,  for  on  this  side, 
especially,  the  air  trembles  with  heat.  Yet,  it  is  cool  in 
the*  shadow  of  the  “  sheikh’s  tomb,”  and  there  we  sit 
and  rest. 

We  had  come  here  to  try  and  realise  what  Jesus  looked 
upon  in  His  childhood,  and,  lo,  as  we  sat  here  in  perfect 
quiet,  a  beautiful  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  in  white  tunic  and 
fez  came  strolling  by.  He  did  not  see  us  sitting  in  the  deep 
shadow,  and  as  he  passed  along  the  ridge,  his  lithe  young 
figure  clean  cut  against  the  sky,  I  remarked  to  my  fellow- 
traveller  that  he  might  do  for  the  boy  Jesus.  Scarcely  had 
the  words  left  my  lips  when  the -lad  paused  and  looked 
around — first  at  Hermon,  then  at  the  sea,  and  then  up  at 
the  sky,  where  some  swallows  were  darting  to  and  fro — an 
act  of  contemplation  deliberate,  impressive,  bespeaking  a 


A  SUNDAY  IN  NAZARETH 


53 


beautiful  young  soul.  And  that  was  the  only  human  figure 
which  broke  the  solitude  of  that  Sabbath  morning. 

The  ground  at  our  feet  was  gay  with  the  spring  flowers  of 
Palestine — the  beautiful  scarlet  anemone,  the  little  cyclamen 
( latifolium ),  the  small  blue  iris  (his  histrio),  and  countless 
others.  A  small  long-tailed  hawk  was  hovering  near  us. 
There  was  a  hum  of  bees  and  the  chirp  of  one  small  bird  ; 
no  other  sound,  except  once  the  distant  bark  of  a  dog  down 
yonder  in  Nazareth. 

At  about  two  o’clock  a  number  of  folk  in  holiday  dress, 
mostly  women  and  children,  arrived  at  the  little  shrine. 
And  here  I  must  put  in  a  word  or  two  explanatory  of  the 
shrine  itself.  These  little  chapels  are  extremely  numerous. 
Almost  every  conspicuous  hill  is  crowned  with  one,  and 
they  are  to  be  seen  in  almost  every  village.  Conder 
identifies  them  with  the  “high  places”  of  Scripture,  and,  on 
the  ground  that  mukam  or  “  station,”  one  of  the  names  by 
which  they  are  commonly  known,  is  a  Hebrew  word,  he  sug¬ 
gests  thatthecult  they  represent  is  of  Canaanite  origin.*  To 
argue  thus,  however,  is  to  overlook  the  fact  that  the  saint- 
worship  to  which  they  pertain  is  found  over  the  whole 
Oriental  world.  The  “  dome,”  “  shrine,”  or  “  station,”  for 
it  is  known  by  all  these  names,  is  dedicated  to  some  saint  ; 
it  may  be  his  tomb,  or  it  may  merely  mark  the  spot  where 
some  incident  in  his  life  occurred  ;  but  his  presence  always 
dwells  in  it,  and  his  influence  both  for  good  and  evil  goes 
out  from  it.  When  there  is  sickness  in  a  village,  offerings 
are  brought  to  the  mukam,  and  on  occasions  of  rejoicing 
the  peasants  will  dance  or  feast  before  it. 

Such  a  place  is  held  in  the  greatest  possible  respect,  and 
it  is  said  that  notwithstanding  the  thieving  propensities  of  the 
Palestine  peasant,  ploughs  or  other  farm  implements  are  often 
left  in  the  mukam  with  the  certainty  that  they  will  not  be 
touched.  In  this  little  shrine  above  Nazareth  I  noticed 
some  clothes  lying.  These,  however,  were  not  left  for 
safety  ;  but  were,  as  Hanna  afterwards  informed  me,  put 
there  as  offerings  to  the  saint  by  people  who  had  been 
cured  of  their  complaints.  Such  a  use  of  clothing  is  very 
widely  spread,  and  the  custom  has  many  ramifications.  It 
is  connected,  for  instance,  with  the  practice  of  hanging 
shreds  and  rags  upon  sacred  trees,  which  we  saw  in  Palestine, 
as  I  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  mention,  and  which  is 
not  unknown  in  the  British  Isles,  for  I  have  seen  it  both  in 
*  “  Tent-Work  in  Palestine,”  6th  edition,  pp.  304-6. 


54 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Wales  and  Ireland.  The  root-idea  of  the  custom  seems  to 
be  the  identification,  or  at  any  rate  the  close  connection,  of 
the  clothes  with  the  wearer,  so  that  in  offering  his  clothes 
it  is  as  if  a  man  offered  a  part  of  himself. 

It  was  to  such  a  sheikh's  (or  saint's)  shrine  that  these 
good  folk  of  Nazareth  had  come  on  this  Sabbath  afternoon. 
They  had  come  there  to  hold  festival,  though  whether  it 
had  any  religious  significance  I  cannot  say.  They  all  seemed 
very  merry,  and  set  to  work  to  gather  fuel  for  a  fire,  just  as 
we  should  at  an  English  picnic.  Some  went  inside  the 
mukam,  others  climbed  on  the  roof  to  look  at  the  view. 
The  children  laughed  and  played,  and  I  noticed  one  little 
girl  of  twelve  or  thirteen  smashing  a  scorpion  which  she 
had  found  beneath  a  large  stone. 

Leaving  my  friend  on  the  hill  to  proceed  with  his  medita¬ 
tion  in  solitude,  I  now  dropped  down  the  steep  side,  first 
through  a  maze  of  broken  terraces  and  half-built  houses, 
and  then  through  a  region  of  older  streets  and  bazaars,  and 
in  due  time  reached  St.  Mary's  Well,  the  sole  spring  by 
which  Nazareth  is  supplied  by  living  water  (Fig.  8).  I 
found  it  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  women  and  girls  filling 
their  earthen  pitchers  at  the  arched  fountain.  Some,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  used  large  square  paraffin-tins,  a  horrible  pro¬ 
duct  of  Western  civilisation,  which,  like  so  much  else  that 
Western  civilisation  produces,  are  more  useful  than  beauti¬ 
ful.  I  once  asked  some  of  the  folk  why  they  used  these 
instead  of  the  graceful  earthen  pitcher  which  they  had 
inherited  from  antiquit)',  and  they  very  simply  and  unan¬ 
swerably  replied,  “  Because  they  do  not  break  1 " 

This  fountain  of  Nazareth  has  not  the  same  form  that 
the  well  of  Nazareth  had  in  Jesus’  day,  neither  is  it  at  pre¬ 
cisely  the  same  spot.  But  this  is  the  same  spring,  and  the 
old  well  was  probably  not  many  yards  away.  It  is,  as  I 
have  said,  the  only  spring  in  the  place,  and  the  mother  of 
Jesus  must  have  come  here  daily  to  draw  water  for  the 
household. 

At  the  present  day  the  girls  of  Nazareth  have  a  coquettish 
way  of  balancing  the  full  pitcher  all  awry,  just  as  in  England 
a  smart  youth  will  sometimes  wear  his  hat  on  the  side  of 
his  head.  The  Christian  girls  are  particularly  good-looking, 
and  I  gathered  from  Hanna  that  they  have  a  reputation  for 
innocent  ‘‘chic,”  of  which  this  little  trick  with  the  pitcher 
is  a  symptom.  A  Turkish  soldier  mounted  on  a  fine  and 
spirited  horse  was  lingering  there,  chaffing  the  women  and 


A  SUNDAY  IN  NAZARETH 


55 

laughing  gaily.  Poor  fellow  !  the  horse  suddenly  became 
restive,  a  struggle  ensued  between  horse  and  rider  which 
ended  in  the  gay  soldier  being  dashed  up  against  a  wall  and 
carried  home  in  a  battered  condition. 

Returning  to  the  camp  I  was  met  by  Hanna  with  the 
news  that  our  mules  were  all  stolen.  One  of  the  muleteers 
had  been  sent  with  them  to  a  neighbouring  village  to  get 
them  some  food,  but  had  returned  with  a  bleeding  nose  and 
no  beasts.  Whether  the  mules  had  strayed  into  the  crops, 
or  how  the  affray  had  arisen  I  could  not  learn,  but  Hanna 
had  already  sent  to  the  deputy-governor  and  obtained 
some  soldiers  to  go  in  pursuit  ;  and  in  the  evening  the 
soldiers  came  riding  into  our  camp  with  swords  drawn,  all 
looking  very  important  and  bringing  the  rescued  mules  in 
their  midst.  I  much  fear  that  no  very  diligent  inquiry  was 
made  into  the  rights  of  the  case.  Certainly  none  of  our 
party  were  called  either  as  prosecutors  or  witnesses.  Several 
inhabitants  of  the  guilty  village,  we  afterwards  learnt,  were 
clapped  into  gaol,  and  Hanna  seemed  altogether  unable  to 
understand  why  we  should  deem  anything  in  the  shape  of 
a  trial  to  have  been  necessary. 


CHAPTER  XI 

NAZARETH  TO  TIBERIAS 

From  Nazareth  it  had  been  our  intention  to  go  westward  to 
Haifa,  explore  Carmel,  and  see  something  of  the  u  coasts 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon”  ;  but  Hanna  declared  that  if  we  at¬ 
tempted  this  large  circuit  we  could  not  be  back  in  Jeru¬ 
salem  by  Easter,  unless  we  omitted  some  other  essential 
part  of  our  projected  journey.  It  is  the  misfortune  of  a 
traveller  new  to  the  country  that  he  has  scarcely  any  check 
upon  his  dragoman’s  statements.  Distances  he  can,  to 
some  extent,  estimate  ;  but  the  character  of  the  country,  the 
temper  of  the  inhabitants,  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  suit¬ 
able  camping-grounds  or  wholesome  water,  all  are  un¬ 
known  to  him  ;  and  unless  he  can  speak  the  language  of 
the  country  and  make  independent  inquiries,  or  is  a  man 
of  strong  physique,  prepared  for  hardship  and  danger,  he 
is  practically  in  his  dragoman’s  hands.  This  the  dragoman 
very  well  knows,  and  his  constant  endeavour  is  to  keep 
the  party  in  the  beaten  tracks,  along  the  roads  with  which 
he  is  acquainted,  and  where  he  will  meet  old  cronies,  and 
put  a  good  thing  in  their  way  in  the  shape  of  fees  for  camp¬ 
ing  and  bakhshish  for  occasional  service. 

So  it  proved  in  the  present  instance.  We  were  obliged 
in  all  prudence  to  follow  the  strong  representations  of  the 
wily  Hanna,  with  the  result  that  in  the  northward  journey 
we  followed  pretty  much  the  usual  tourist  route.  It  was 
not  until  we  turned  southward  that  we  departed  to  any 
great  extent  from  the  course  usually  laid  down. 

We  left  Nazareth  on  Monday,  March  18,  and  by  eight 
o'clock  were  on  the  way  to  Tiberias.  It  was  a  cool  grey 
morning,  and  as  we  mounted  the  hill  tojthe  east  of  Nazareth, 
long  white  clouds  lay  across  the  mountain  ranges  to  the 
north  ;  Hermon  alone  reared  his  noble  head  high  above 
the  mists. 

Over  the  ridge  and  down  the  steep  and  stony  path  bear- 


NAZARETH  TO  TIBERIAS 


57 

ing  north-eastward  we  rode,  until  we  reached  the  low  un¬ 
dulations  which  fringe  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon.  On  the 
spur  of  a  hill  to  our  left,  covered  with  olive-trees,  stood  el- 
Meshed,  where  Jerome  says  that  in  his  day  the  tomb  of  the 
prophet  Jonah  was  shown.  A  rise  in  the  road  brought  us 
in  view  of  Bashan  beyond  Jordan,  and  presently  Karn 
Hattin  thrust  his  strange  shape  upon  our  notice,  lying 
almost  straight  before  us. 

The  tradition  that  this  was  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes  arose 
perhaps  from  its  noticeable  form  and  conspicuous  position, 
but  it  is  an  idea  that  dates  only  from  the  time  of  the  Cru¬ 
sades.  Tradition,  as  I  have  already  remarked,  usually  de¬ 
mands  that  a  notable  incident  shall  have  a  dramatically  and 
romantically  fit  stage  for  its  occurrence  ;  but  it  is  not  so 
that  the  world  is  in  general  arranged.  For  my  own  part, 
I  afterwards  came  to  believe  that  the  true  Mount  of  Beati¬ 
tudes  was  the  green  hill  behind  Gennesaret — a  serene  and 
natural  resort  for  the  Master  and  His  disciples.* 

Soon  afterwards  the  nearer  heights  open  out  and  show 
the  village  of  Kefr  Kenna  lying  in  a  fold  of  the  hills  on  a 
slight  rise,  a  place  where  there  is  no  want  of  water,  for  it  is 
supplied  by  a  beautiful  and  abundant  stream.  Kefr  Kenna 
is  known  to  every  tourist  as  the  traditional  Cana  of  Galilee, 
but  the  site  is  extremely  doubtful. 

As  to  the  significance  of  Cana  in  the  Gospel  story,  whether 
it  is  historical  or  merely  symbolical,  it  is  impossible  to  say. 
It  is  as  mysterious  as  the  disciple  Nathanael,  who  was  said 
to  have  been  born  there.  The  fourth  Gospel — in  which 
almost  every  name  and  numeral,  as  well  as  every  event, 
seems  to  have  a  cryptic  meaning — can  never  be  freely  used 
for  biographical  purposes.  All  we  can  say  is  that  the  stories 
of  the  water  made  wine,  and  the  healing  of  the  nobleman’s 
son,  were  probably  founded  on  some  biographical  facts 
handed  down  by  tradition  ;  but  as  we  read  them  now  they 
are  poetry,  and  their  spiritual  intent  is  all  that  remains 
to  us. 

That  there  actually  was  such  a  place  as  Cana  does  not, 
however,  admit  of  doubt.  There  was,  and  there  is,  more 
than  one  such  place.  In  fact,  we  have  here  one  of  the 

*  On  Karn  Hattin,  however,  one  notable  incident  did,  in  fact,  occur 
— the  last  and  decisive  battle  of  the  Crusades,  which  was  fought  on 
July  4,  1187.  One  main  cause  of  this  great  defeat  was  thirst;  and,  as 
one  stands  on  the  arid  plain  below  the  Horns, one  can  realise  how 
terrible  an  enemy  that  must  have  been. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


58 

many  examples  of  the  multiplication  of  identical  names 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  Palestine,  and  which  has  so 
often  occasioned  historical  confusion.  There  is  a  Cana  far 
away  in  the  Sidon  region,  another  Cana  eight  miles  north 
of  Nazareth,  a  third  a  mile  and  a  half  north-east  of  Nazareth, 
and  there  is  this  village  of  Kefr  Kenna,  three  miles  and  a 
half  from  Nazareth  by  the  same  road.  The  first  is  out  of 
the  question,  and  the  last  seems  to  be  excluded  by  the  fact 
that  Cana  in  Greek  is  spelt  with  a  “  K,”  while  the  root  of 
Kenna  demands  a  “  \,v  The  remaining  two  are  both 
philologically  possible,  and  from  either  of  them  the  traveller 
would  go  “down”  to  Capernaum.  There  is,  perhaps, 
rather  more  probability  attaching  to  'Ain  Kana,  which  is 
on  the  road  from  Nazareth  to  Capernaum,  than  to  Khurbet 
Kana,  eight  miles  to  the  north  and  away  from  the  line  of 
travel ;  and  this  site,  which  was  first  suggested  by  Colonel 
Conder,  has  been  favoured  by  Guthe  and  by  Sanday.* 

The  beautiful  brook  of  Kefr  Kenna  was  reached  just  be¬ 
fore  entering  the  village.  Close  behind  it  lay  a  venerable 
sarcophagus,  used  as  a  drinking-trough.  Women  were 
fetching  water  in  their  graceful  jars,  one  woman  was  rinsing 
clothes,  and  a  little  girl  was  scraping  a  water-skin  with  a 
knife  and  cleaning  it  in  the  stream.  We  did  not  halt  to  see 
the  veritable  water-pots  in  which  the  water  was  changed 
into  wine,  nor  the  house  of  Bartholomew  the  Apostle  ;  but 
passing  the  school,  from  which  issued  the  hum  of  children 
at  their  lessons,  and  the  Greek  and  Latin  churches  which 
frowned  at  each  other  across  the  road,  we  issued  into  the 
open  fields  again. 

From  Kefr  Kenna  we  dropped  into  a  beautiful  little  plain 
surrounded  by  low  hills.  At  times  it  seemed  almost  as 
though  we  were  in  England,  for  the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills 
were  clothed  with  yellow  broom,  and  the  rough  scrub 
which  covered  their  stony  sides  and  crowns  reminded  one  of 
Dartmoor. 

We  passed  the  usual  groups  and  parties  on  the  road,  some 

*  Conder,  P.E.F.  Mem.,  i.  p.  288,  and  “Tent-Work,”  6th  edition, 
p.  81 ;  Sanday,  “  Sacred  Sites,”  p.  84,  fn.  As  between  Kefr  Kenna  and 
Kanat  el-Gelil  (Khurbet  Kana),  ecclesiastical  authority  is  on  the  whole 
in  favour  of  the  latter;  so  also  is  the  evidence  derived  from  Josephus 
(“  Life,”  §  16),  He  lived  at  Cana  at  the  time  of  John  of  Gischala’s 
revolt,  and  since  he  also  describes  his  home  as  situated  in  the  plain  of 
Asochis,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  Cana,  “  a  village  of  Galilee,”  which 
he  knew  (and  he  was  living  when  the  Gospels  were  written),  was 
Khurbet  K&na. 


NAZARETH  TO  TIBERIAS 


59 

riding,  some  walking.  Here  were  women  cutting  dandelion 
plants,  which  they  cook  and  use  as  a  vegetable  ;  anon  came 
a  string  of  eight  mules,  driven  by  three  men  ;  presently 
passed  an  imposing  procession  of  seven  laden  camels  led  by 
three  men  riding  on  donkeys,  with  the  merchant  at  the  head 
of  the  party  busy  with  tablet  and  pencil  as  he  rode  ;  and 
last,  but  not  least,  came  the  Tiberias  omnibus,  for  we  were 
now  on  one  of  the  few  roads  on  which  a  vehicle  can  run  ! 
This  remarkable  machine  is  a  kind  of  covered  char-a-banc, 
or  “  flying  bedstead,”  which  runs  between  Haifa  and  Tibe¬ 
rias,  and  on  this  particular  day  was  crowded  with  passengers, 
some  in  Oriental,  others  in  semi-European  costumes.  So 
bizarre  was  its  appearance  that  it  scarcely  seemed  to  spoil 
the  romance  of  the  journey,  though  it  frightened  both  our 
horses,  which  left  the  road  and  bolted  into  the  fields. 

Shortly  before  noon  we  turned  aside  into  an  olive  garden, 
and  lay  there  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  Near  by  was  a 
picturesque  group  of  shepherds,  in  striped  cloaks  and  cool 
head-drapery,  stretching  their  limbs  beneath  the  spreading 
boughs  of  an  ancient  tree.  In  Palestine  noon  rather  than 
night  is  the  silent  time.  The  wild  beasts  are  in  their  lairs, 
the  men  hide  themselves  from  the  heat,  the  wells  are  almost 
deserted  by  the  women,  even  the  chirping  of  the  little  crested 
larks,  who  hop  from  stone  to  stone,  almost  the  only  small 
bird  seen  in  these  mountains,  is  silenced  for  a  time,  and  the 
monarch  of  the  skies  looks  abroad  over  a  hushed  and 
powerless  world. 

When  we  took  the  road  again,  a  slight  ascent  lay  before 
us.  As  we  climbed  it  Tabor  began  to  thrust  up  his  shaggy 
head.  He  rose  above  the  low  hills  a  little  to  our  right.  An 
uncouth,  ill-placed  mountain  he  always  seemed  to  me,  from 
any  and  every  point  of  view,  never  harmonising  with  the 
scene,  but  standing  apart  insolently  individual  and  self- 
contained  in  his  rounded  and  too  symmetrical  isolation.  I 
suppose  it  was  this  symmetry  and  isolation  which  led  the 
early  Christians  to  select  this  as  the  Mount  of  Transfigura¬ 
tion,  a  strange  selection,  seeing  that  in  the  time  of  J esus  it  was 
crowned  by  a  fortress,  and  probably  by  many  dwellings. 

Soon  afterwards,  passing  over  a  slight  ridge,  we  found 
ourselves  at  the  apex  of  an  immense  fan-shaped  scoop,  which 
sloped  downwards  broadening  out  as  it  descended,  and 
broke  off  abruptly  at  the  edge  of  the  steep  declivity — the 
cliff  one  might  almost  say — which  overlooks  the  Jordan 
Valley  and  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Our  first  glimpse  of  the  lake 


6o 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


we  obtained  about  an  hour  and  a  half  after  commencing  the 
descent  of  this  conchoidal  hollow,  just  a  narrow  blue  streak, 
which  opened  out  as  we  proceeded,  till  at  length  there  lay,  far, 
far  below  us,  at  the  bottom  of  a  weird  gulf,  small  by  reason 
of  the  enormous  depth  at  which  it  lay,  seeming,  indeed,  to 
be  of  some  sub-terrestrial  world,  that  lovely  expanse  of  azure 
water,  which  was  the  goal  of  so  many  dreams. 

We  dismounted  and  gazed  long  upon  that  buried  beauty, 
as  one  might  peer  into  still  water  and  fancy  some  fairyland 
in  the  calm  crystal  depths.  That  underworld  into  which  we 
were  looking  is  680  feet  below  sea-level — a  widening  out  of 
the  wonderful  cleft  down  the  length  of  which  the  Jordan 
flows.  The  mountains  recede  and  leave  this  oval  setting  for 
yonder  jewel. 

The  nearer  half  of  the  sea  was  ruffled  by  a  breeze,  the 
further  part,  under  the  shelter  of  the  red  cliffs  of  Bashan, 
motionless,  transparent,  ethereal — a  shimmer  of  blue  which 
might  be  either  air  or  water — a  dream  ready  to  vanish  at  a 
word.  Immediately  beneath  us,  dwarfed  into  a  pigmy  town 
by  the  distance,  lay  the  glittering  houses  of  Tiberias,  its 
dazzling  whiteness  lit  by  the  western  sun,  standing  in  lovely 
contrast  to  the  blue  of  the  lake  and  the  rich  brown  of  the 
crusaders'  walls  and  towers  which  encircled  it. 

It  took  us  an  hour  or  more  to  descend  the  steep  zig-zag 
which  was  cut  in  the  side  of  the  cliff.  When  at  length  we 
reached  the  Lake-side  almost  the  first  thing  we  saw  was  a 
group  of  fishermen  squatting  on  the  beach  “  mending  their 
nets."  It  seemed  a  reminder  that  here  at  least  we  were  in 
Jesus’  country  ;  a  feeling  which  never  left  us  so  long  as  we 
lingered  about  these  lovely  waters.  The  Mount  of  Olives 
had  seemed  so  disfigured  by  modern  dwellings,  Jacob’s  Well 
so  doubtful  in  its  Messianic  legend,  Nazareth  itself  occiden- 
talised  and  spoiled,  but  here  is  both  certainty  and  beauty. 
Jesus  paced  these  slopes  and  sailed  these  waters,  and  filled 
His  eyes  and  His  soul  with  the  azure  of  the  lake  and  the  rosy 
splendour  of  yonder  cliffs.  He  took  His  parable  from  those 
lilies  of  the  field  which  to  this  day  clothe  the  shores  with 
their  splendour.*  Here  was  veritably  lived  that  Galilean 
idyll  which  has  become  the  Gospel  of  half  mankind. 

And  now  it  is  evening.  We  are  encamped  on  a  grassy 

0  The  scarlet  anemone  (Anemone  coronaris ),  which  has  often,  and 
reasonably,  been  identified  with  the  lilies  which  surpassed  in  splendour 
the  glory  of  Solomon,  is  abundant  here ;  also  the  yellow  chrysanthemum 
(Chrysanthemum  coronarium )  and  many  other  of  the  gayest  flowers 


NAZARETH  TO  TIBERIAS 


61 

bank  close  to  the  shore,  and  about  a  mile  to  the  south  of 
the  town.  The  sun  has  gone  behind  the  hill,  a  breeze  has 
sprung  up  ;  there  is  a  white  surf  along  the  beach  ;  the 
sound  of  its  wash  comes  soothingly  through  the  twilight. 
A  level  bank  of  cloud  crosses  the  north  end  of  the  lake,  so 
mingling  with  the  mountains  that  it  is  hard  to  say  which  are 
mountains  and  which  are  clouds.  The  wind  rises ;  the 
colour  of  the  lake  has  changed  from  blue  to  a  slaty  green  ; 
its  surface  is  flecked  with  tiny  wavelets,  and  long  dark  lines 
stretch  obliquely  across  the  water,  marking  where  the  swell 
rolls  beneath  the  pressure  of  the  wind.  A  gull  is  skimming 
the  waves,  dipping  his  wings  and  feet  as  he  flies.  And  now 
the  dusk  rapidly  deepens,  fire-flies  glance  among  the  mimosa 
shrubs,  and  away  yonder  on  the  eastern  shore  the  lights  of 
the  Bedawin  camps  glimmer  against  the  dark  hills  as  night 
descends. 


CHAPTER  XII 


ACROSS  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE  TO  KERSA,  THE 
“COUNTRY  OF  THE  GERASENES” 

In  the  night  the  jackals  came  down  from  the  mountains, 
and  the  dogs  of  Tiberias  sallied  forth  and  fought  them.  A 
tremendous  affair  it  must  have  been,  judging  by  the  noise, 
which  made  the  hours  of  darkness  horrible,  and  which  con¬ 
tinued  through  the  greater  part  of  the  night.  “  What  peace 
is  there  between  the  hyena  and  the  dog  ?  ”  exclaims  the  Book 
of  Ecclesiasticus  ;  and  the  same  might  be  said  of  the  jackal, 
for  the  dogs  seem  to  consider  them  their  natural  enemies.  In 
the  morning  we  learned  that  the  garrison  of  Tiberias  had  been 
victorious  and  one  of  the  jackals  had  been  torn  to  pieces. 

When  we  arose  at  half-past  five,  the  lake  was  of  glassy 
smoothness,  the  mountains  on  the  further  side  of  deep 
purple,  except  a  narrow  undulating  ribbon  of  purest  blue 
along  the  sky-line.  Above  this  a  band  of  orange  light  told 
that  the  sun  was  up,  though  he  had  not  yet  risen  above  the 
hills.  But  presently  the  rim  of  his  burning  orb  appeared, 
and  instantly  a  golden  shaft  flashed  across  the  mirror, 
broadening  in  a  few  seconds  to  a  pathway  of  glory  as 
though  the  sacred  feet  had  once  again  touched  the  waters 
of  Galilee. 

To-day  we  had  planned  to  visit  Kersa,  the  ancient  Gergasa 
or  Gerasa,  where  the  demoniac  dwelt  among  the  tombs,  and 
the  swine  ran  down  a  steep  place  into  the  sea.  So  we 
breakfasted  at  six,  and  by  half-past  were  rowing  straight 
across  the  lake,  for  Kersa  lies  almost  opposite  to  Tiberias. 
Our  boat  was  rather  a  heavy  affair,  manned  by  five  strong 
Arabs,  hearty,  jolly  fellows,  who  chattered  and  joked  and 
laughed,  showing  rows  of  glistening  teeth.  We  had  started 
early  because  we  intended  after  seeing  Kersa  to  explore  the 
north  end  of  the  lake  and  return  along  the  western  shore,  a 
round  of  some  four  and  twenty  miles  in  all,  which  with 
inland  excursions  would  take  up  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 


ACROSS  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE  TO  KERSA  63 

Hanna  said,  moreover,  that  the  boatmen  liked  to  cross  the 
lake  early  in  the  day  if  they  had  to  cross  at  all,  and  were 
not  permitted,  as  they  preferred  to  do,  to  hug  the  shore. 
The  sudden  storms,  said  Hanna,  which  are  here  so  prevalent, 
are  more  frequent  in  the  afternoon  and  evening  than  the 
morning,  the  wind  coming  in  squalls  from  the  west.  This 
latter  is  contrary  to  what  I  have  usually  heard,  which  is  that 
the  storms  descend  from  the  mountains  on  the  eastern  shore. 

The  lake  at  this  part  is  something  over  six  miles  across, 
which  the  Arabs  row  in  about  two  hours.  Half-way  across, 
the  view  towards  the  head  of  the  lake  is  very  striking.  A 
little  to  the  left  of  the  central  point  of  the  northern  shore, 
one  sees  a  deep  cleft  in  the  hills,  filled  now  with  dark  blue 
shadow.  That  is  where  Jordan  enters.  Behind  this  are 
ranges  of  hills  ;  and  beyond  all,  almost  central,  and  domin¬ 
ating  the  whole  scene,  rises  the  white  crest  of  Hermon. 
It  is  a  picture  which  must  have  entered  very  deeply  into  a 
soul  such  as  that  of  Jesus  in  His  frequent  crossings  and 
recrossings  of  the  Galilean  Sea. 

Turning  now  to  the  direction  in  which  we  are  rowing, 
that  is,  due  east,  we  observe  that  the  dip  in  the  hills  which 
we  had  seen  from  Tiberias  has  opened  itself  out  into  a 
distinct  cleft  or  wadi,  and,  as  we  proceed,  this  further  reveals 
itself  as  a  deep  and  broad  valley  running  up  from  the  lake. 
It  is  in  the  mouth  of  this  valley  that  the  ruins  of  Kersa  are 
situated  ;  and  as  we  are  now  drawing  towards  the  shore,  we 
must  devote  a  few  lines  to  the  question  of  the  identification 
of  Kersa  with  the  ancient  Gergasa,  which  identification  is 
the  main  reason  for  our  paying  it  a  visit. 

The  one  story  connected  with  this  place — that  of  the 
demoniac  and  the  swine — is  narrated  by  all  the  synoptics. 
In  Matthew’s  story  different  manuscripts  give  the  scene 
of  the  occurrence  as  the  country  of  the  Gadarenes — 
the  Gergesenes,  the  Gerasenes,  and  the  Gazarenes — “  Gada¬ 
renes  ”  having  the  weight  of  evidence  in  its  favour  as  the 
word  which  the  Evangelist  himself  wrote.  In  Mark  and 
Luke  the  scene  is  given  as  the  country  of  the  Gerasenes, 
Gergesenes,  and  Gadarenes — 11  Gerasenes  ”  having  here  the 
weight  of  manuscript  evidence  in  its  favour.  The  difference 
in  readings  is  very  remarkable,  one  and  the  same  manuscript 
giving  sometimes  three  different  readings.  The  Codex 
Sinaiticus,  for  instance,  reads  Gazarenes  in  Matthew,  Gera¬ 
senes  in  Mark,  and  Gergesenes  in  Luke. 

The  case  is  nevertheless  not  entirely  hopeless.  The  first 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


64 

thing  that  occurs  to  us  is  that  the  only  Gerasa  one  knows  is 
thirty-five  miles  from  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  while  Gadara  is  at 
least  six  miles  from  it ;  and  we  might  be  inclined  to  infer 
forthwith,  as  many  eminent  authorities  have  done,  that 
Gerasa  and  Gadara  are  both  to  be  rejected,  and  that  Gergesa 
was  the  true  name  of  the  place.  A  writer  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
Biblica  reminds  us,  however,  that  this  would  be  to  argue 
too  hastily,  and  that  we  must  take  into  account  the  well- 
known  tendency  of  the  scribes  when  writing  a  word  be¬ 
ginning  with  “  gad  ”  or  “  ger  "  to  repeat  the  initial  “  g  "  at  the 
beginning  of  the  second  syllable.  Allowing  for  this  he  con¬ 
cludes  that  Gerasa  was  the  true  name  of  the  place,  Gergesa 
the  name  as  corrupted  by  the  scribes,  and  that  the  modern 
representative  of  it  is  Kersa,  the  spot  towards  which  the 
prow  of  our  boat  is  now  directed.  The  Gerasa  represented 
by  the  modern  Jerash  is  of  course  altogether  out  of  the 
question,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  a  second  Gerasa 
represented  by  the  modern  Kersa  might  not  have  existed.* 

It  may  seem  strange  to  some  readers  that  any  one  should 
trouble  to  identify  the  scene  of  so  legendary  an  occurrence. 
They  will  recall  the  famous  passage  of  arms  between  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  Professor  Huxley,  and  having  long  since 
concluded  that  science  allows  no  reality  to  this  miracle  of 
the  bedevilled  swine  any  more  than  to  any  other  story  of 
witches  or  magicians,  they  may  be  inclined  to  say,  Why 
trouble  about  the  supposed  scene  of  a  baseless  legend  ? 
Let  them,  however,  glance  at  Rushbrooke’s  “  Synopticon,” 
or  take  the  trouble  to  compare  for  themselves  the  story  as 
given  in  all  three  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  and  note  the 
verbal  correspondences,  and  they  will  realise  that  here  we 
have  a  very  early  tradition,  earlier  than  any  of  the  written 
Gospels,  strongly  suggesting  some  real  incident  in  the  life 
of  Jesus,  however  distorted  it  may  have  become  in  the  pro¬ 
cess  of  passing  from  mouth  to  mouth  amid  a  wonder-loving 
people. 

Dr.  Edwin  Abbott,  in  “  The  Kernel  and  the  Husk,"  f 
has  given  a  possible  explanation  of  the  “  swine  "  part  of  the 
story  ;  but,  whatever  be  the  true  explanation,  I  cannot 
doubt  that  the  shore  upon  which  we  are  about  to  land  was 
trodden  by  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  that  here  He  performed 
one  of  the  many  healing  works  which  He  wrought  upon  those 
mental  sufferers  who  abounded  then,  as  now,  in  this  sad 

*  See  on  the  whole  question  Sanday’s  “  Sacred  Sites,”  pp.  25  ff. 

f  Op.  cit p.  204. 


ACROSS  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE  TO  KERSA  65 

country,  and  who  then,  as  now,  were  believed  to  be  possessed 
by  demons.  It  is  this  which  gives  such  interest  to  the  ruins 
of  Kersa  and  their  surroundings,  and  made  me  eager  to 
compare  the  locality  with  the  details  of  the  Gospel  story. 

We  landed  upon  a  flat  shore  covered  with  rank  grass  and 
flowers,  among  them  species  of  campanula,  chamomile,  and 
pheasant’s-eye  (Adonis),  the  blue  pimpernel,  and  quantities 
of  an  enormous  umbel  growing  to  a  height  of  six  or  seven 
feet.  At  a  little  distance,  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  from 
the  lake  we  found  the  ruins.  They  consist  of  two  long  lines 
of  wall  at  right-angles,  apparently  forming  part  of  an  en¬ 
closing  rampart,  together  with  fragments  of  walls  covering 
a  large  area.  This  agrees  fairly  well  with  Thomson's  state¬ 
ment,*  that  it  was  a  small  place  with  considerable  suburbs, 
though  I  did  not  verify  his  assertion  that  “the  walls  can  be 
traced  all  round." 

The  small  plain  upon  which  the  ruins  lie  is  bounded  on 
the  south  by  a  spur  of  the  mountains  which  runs  steeply 
down  to  the  water — “  the  only  portion  of  that  coast,"  says 
Professor  G.  A.  Smith,  “  on  which  the  steep  hills  come  down 
to  the  shore."  I  afterwards  verified  this  statement  of  Pro¬ 
fessor  Smith’s,  for,  although  there  are  several  other  places — 
as,  for  instance,  at  Kalat  el-Hosn,  a  little  south  of  Kersa, 
where  the  mountains  are  not  too  precipitous  to  fit  the  story 
— this  is  the  only  place  where  they  descend  within  a  few 
feet  of  the  water  ;  everywhere  else  there  is  a  long  stretch 
of  level  ground  between  the  mountains  and  the  lake.  In 
short,  the  objection  which  lies  against  Gadara  as  the  place 
which  the  Evangelist  had  in  mind — that  the  swine,  after  they 
had  reached  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  would  have  had  to 
ford  the  Jabbok  and  then  gallop  for  five  or  six  miles  over  a 
level  plain  before  they  could  succeed  in  getting  themselves 
drowned — applies  in  a  less  degree  to  every  other  place  along 
the  lake-shore  except  the  mountain  at  Kersa.  At  every  other 
place  the  level  strand  would  be  too  broad  for  the  impetus 
of  their  descent  to  carry  them  into  the  waters  of  the  lake, 
but  here  such  a  descent  must  inevitably  end  in  such  a 
disaster.  The  inference  is  that,  whatever  of  truth  or  fiction 
there  may  be  in  the  story  itself,  the  coast  immediately  south 
of  Kersa  is  that  which  was  intended  by  those  who  handed 
the  story  down. 

From  the  slope  of  this  southern  hill  there  jutted  out  what 
appeared  to  be  a  mass  of  masonry.  Four  miles  up  the  Wadi 

*  “  The  Land  and  the  Book,”  p.  375. 


E 


66 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


are  the  remains  of  Kusr  Bardawil,  or  the  Castle  of  Baldwin  ; 
and  this  tower,  overlooking  the  sea,  may  have  been  some 
to  work  or  watch-tower  belonging  to  Crusading  times. 
Whatever  it  had  been  in  olden  time,  it  was  evidently  used  as 
a  look-out  place  now,  for  perched  upon  it  we  noticed  the 
figure  of  a  man  who  was  intently  watching  us.  Presently  he 
lay  down,  and  all  the  time  that  I  was  photographing  and 
gathering  flowers  I  was  conscious  of  him  eyeing  my  pro¬ 
ceedings.  At  length,  when  we  began  to  retreat  towards  the 
shore,  he  left  his  ruined  tower,  and  with  a  slow  and  stately 
step  descended  the  slope  of  the  mountain.  At  the  same  time, 
an  elderly  Bedawi  appeared  from  another  direction.  The 
watchman  proved  to  be  the  sheikh  of  a  tribe  of  Bedawin 
whose  tents  we  had  noticed  not  very  far  away,  and  who,  as 
Hanna  afterwards  informed  us,  is  very  rich,  owning  large 
flocks  and  herds.  He  addressed  us  courteously,  and  our 
dragoman  and  boatmen  made  due  submission,  each  in  turn 
kissing  his  hand  ;  of  us,  as  Europeans,  this  was  not  ex¬ 
pected.  Notwithstanding  his  wealth,  the  sheikh  has  the 
reputation  of  being  a  humble-minded  man,  which  on  the 
present  occasion  was  shown  by  his  attempting  to  withdraw 
his  hand  each  time  that  it  was  kissed,  this  being  the  recog¬ 
nised  mode  of  expressing  humility  and  politeness.* 

I  inquired  his  name,  and  was  informed  that  it  was  Sheikh 
Ahmed  el-Azaizeh,  chief  of  the  Azaizeh  tribe  of  Bedawin. 
I  further  asked  the  name  of  the  ruin  upon  which  he  was  stand¬ 
ing  when  we  first  saw  him,  and  he  said  that  it  was  called 
Gilyat  (“Kaliat")  Ghersa.  It  now  occurred  to  me  that  he 
might  be  able  to  inform  me  on  one  point  which  I  had  been 
turning  over  in  my  mind  ever  since  we  landed.  According 
to  the  demoniac  story  there  ought  to  be  tombs  in  this  place, 
yet  I  had  found  none  of  the  rock-cut  tombs  which  are  so 
often  seen  near  ancient  ruins  in  Palestine.  Only  two  dark 
spots  high  up  the  hillside  looked  as  though  they  might  be 
caverns  of  the  kind.  Pointing  to  them,  I  asked  Sheikh 
Ahmed  whether  they  were  tombs.  The  left-hand  one  he 
said  was  a  cave,  the  right-hand  one  was  not  an  opening  at 
all,  though  from  this  distance  it  looked  like  one.  In  reply 
to  my  question  whether  he  knew  of  any  other  caves  or  rock- 
cut  tombs  in  this  neighbourhood,  he  said,  to  my  surprise, 
that  this  one  which  I  had  pointed  out  was  the  only  cave  of 
any  sort  in  the  surrounding  district.  Thomson’s  account,  in 
“  The  Land  and  the  Book,"  does  not  very  well  agree  with 

*  Cf.  Burton,  “  Pilgrimage  to  Al-Madinah,”  vol,  i.  p.  287. 


ACROSS  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE  TO  KERSA  67 

this.  His  statement  is,  “It  [Kersa]  is  within  a  few  rods  of 
the  shore,  and  an  immense  mountain  rises  directly  above  it, 
in  which  are  ancient  tombs,  out  of  some  of  which  the  two 
men  possessed  of  the  devils  may  have  issued  to  meet  Jesus.”  * 
The  phrase  “  some  of  which  ”  would  imply  that  Thomson 
found  several. 

We  were  much  charmed  with  the  dignity  and  kindliness 
of  our  Bedawi  sheikh.  He  was  altogether  just  such  an 
Arab  chief  as  one  reads  of  in  romances.  He  permitted  me 
to  take  his  portrait,  and  when  we  essayed  to  bid  him  farewell 
pressed  us  to  take  coffee  with  his  tribe.  This,  much  to  our 
regret,  we  were  forced  to  decline,  as  we  had  a  long  circuit  to 
make  before  evening.  We  launched  our  boat,  and  turning 
the  prow  northwards,  commenced  our  coasting  trip  round 
the  northern  half  of  the  lake. 

*  Op.  cit p.  376. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

A  COASTING  TRIP  IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHSAIDA 

From  Kersa  we  commenced  to  row  northward,  keeping 
near  to  the  shore,  and  noticing  all  the  way  how  broad  a 
strip  of  flat  land  intervened  between  the  mountains  and  the 
sea,  a  feature  which  is  not  observable  when  this  coast  is 
viewed  from  the  western  shore.  After  rowing  for  about 
four  or  five  miles  we  found  ourselves  at  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  lake,  where  the  mountains  recede  to  a  con¬ 
siderable  distance  and  the  shore-strip  broadens  into  a  wide 
plain.  At  one  part  this  plain  broke  off  at  the  water’s  edge 
with  a  sheer  bank  of  some  height,  along  which  was 
stretched  a  large  Bedawin  camp,  and  near  to  it  a  line  of 
low  buildings,  which  the  boatmen  told  us  were  used  by  the 
Bedawin  for  storehouses.  In  the  midst  of  the  village  rose  a 
single  palm. 

The  broad  plain  which  extended  between  us  and  the 
mountains  was  the  famous  Plain  of  el-Batiha,  where 
Josephus  fought  with  Sylla  and  was  hurt  by  the  stumbling 
of  his  horse,  and  the  Bedawin  settlement  is  now  known  as 
Mesadiyeh,  a  name-^which  has  the  same  root  and  is,  indeed, 
almost  the  same  word  as  Bethsaida.  It  was  to  understand 
more  clearly  the  situation  of  this  place  that  we  had  included 
it  in  our  excursion. 

Besides  the  significance  of  the  recognised  geographical 
name  of  Mesadiyeh,  the  fact  is  on  record  *  that  when  Dr. 
Thomson  was  here  in  1855  he  heard  the  identical  name 
“  Bethsaida  ”  applied  to  the  village  by  the  Bedawin  of  the 
district.  May  not  this,  then,  we  would  ask,  be  the  site  of 
the  old  fishing  village  of  Bethsaida  from  which  Andrew  and 
Peter  came  ?  True  it  is  rather  far  (some  two  miles)  from 
et-Tell,  which  is  usually  identified  with  Bethsaida  Julias, 
the  Greek  Bethsaida  ;  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
Bethsaida  which  Philip  built  upon  the  inland  mound  was 

*  “  The  Land  and  the  Book,”  p.  360. 


A  TRIP  IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHSAIDA  69 

called  after  some  older  coast-village  where  Jewish  fishermen 
lived  ;  and  if  so,  Mesadiyeh  may  well  be  the  village  after 
which  it  was  called — the  Jewish  Bethsaida  which  Jesus 
frequented. 

But  this  Mesadiyeh,  it  may  be  objected,  with  its  high 
bank  falling  sheer  to  the  water,  was  surely  not  a  very  con¬ 
venient  landing-place  for  fishing-boats  ?  True,  but  I  would 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  just  beyond  the  Bedawi  settle¬ 
ment,  the  lake  opens  into  a  broad  estuary  or  basin  into 
which  three  considerable  streams  empty  themselves.  This 
basin,  with  its  shelving  beach  of  sand  and  shells,  one  may 
imagine  to  have  served  as  a  harbour  for  the  boats,  while  the 
village  itself  was  built  along  the  bank.* 

Some  have  preferred  to  find  the  original  Bethsaida  at 
el-Araj  on  the  further  or  western  shore  of  the  estuary  in 
question,  and  there  is  something  to  be  said  for  this  view  ; 
there  are  considerable  ruins  there,  it  is  more  accessible  from 
et-Tell,  and  it  is  said  that  a  Roman  road  connected  the  two 
places. 

Re-embarking  we  rowed  across  the  opening,  which  is 
perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  to  el-Araj,  or  “  Laraj," 
as  the  name  is  abbreviated  by  the  natives  of  the  place  just 
mentioned.  Here  there  are  broken  stone  walls  of  some 
extent,  with  palm-trees  rising  above  them,  and  some  roughly 
built  houses  constructed  of  ancient  materials.  From  this 
place  I  decided  to  make  my  way  inland  to  et-Tell,  the  site 
of  Bethsaida  Julias.  At  first  our  crew  had  all  declared  that 
this  would  be  impossible,  as  the  tell  stood  in  the  middle  of 
a  swamp.  But  they  afterwards  admitted  that  as  the  season 
was  so  extraordinarily  dry,  one  might  perhaps  reach  the  tell  ; 
so  two  “  brave  men/'  as  Hanna  styled  them,  undertook  to 
be  my  guides,  while  the  rest  of  our  party  promised  to  take 
the  boat  round  to  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan  and  await  us  at 
a  point  in  that  river  opposite  to  the  tell  which  we  were  about 
to  visit. 

The  walk  occupied  about  half  an  hour.  We  met  with  no 
difficulty  other  than  that  of  the  intense  heat,  which  was 
indeed  almost  intolerable.  One  or  two  broad  ditches  we 
had  to  leap,  and  there  were  marshy  spots  to  pass,  and  I 
called  to  mind  that  this  was  the  very  place  where  Josephus 
met  with  his  accident,  referred  to  above  :  “The  horse  upon 
which  I  rode,  and  upon  whose  back  I  fought,  fell  into  a 
quagmire,  ai}d  threw  me  to  the  ground  ;  and  I  was  bruised 

*  See  sketch  in  Appendix  C.,  p.  274. 


70 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


on  my  wrist,  and  carried  into  a  village  named  Kepharnomon 
(Capernaum).”*  In  a  wet  season  the  whole  plain  almost  as 
far  as  et-Tell  must  be  practically  a  quagmire.  The  drier 
part,  where  the  marsh  rises  toward  the  mound,  is  adorned 
with  patches  of  dark  blue  lupine  (Lupinus  pilosus)  and  many 
other  gorgeous  flowers. 

We  passed  several  herds  of  Indian  buffaloes  with  horns 
of  immense  length,  wallowing  in  the  mire  like  swine.  These 
are  not,  as  has  been  stated,  the  “  bulls  of  Bashan,”  but  are 
a  comparatively  modern  introduction,  and  are  of  the  same 
breed  as  we  had  already  seen  both  in  Italy  and  Egypt. 
The  buffaloes  were  tended  by  rough-looking,  black-faced 
Bedawin,  who  would  every  now  and  then  start  up  in  un¬ 
expected  places  from  the  cover  of  some  ditch  or  shrub.  They 
would  gaze  at  us  with  immovable  faces,  uttering  no  greeting 
and  showing  no  sign  of  surprise  at  our  unwonted  intrusion. 

The  tell,  as  we  approached  it,  was  seen  to  rise  somewhat 
abruptly  from  the  plain,  and  was  of  a  height  quite  sufficient 
to  dominate  the  whole  of  the  Delta  in  the  midst  of  which  it 
stands.  It  occurred  to  me  as  I  reviewed  it  that  the  whole 
of  this  marsh  was  formed  by  the  deposit  brought  down  by 
the  Jordan  and  by  the  streams  which  flow  down  the  Wady 
Suffah,  and  that  in  1900  years  an  area  quite  equal  to  this 
might  have  been  laid  down.  Is  it  possible,  then,  that 
et-Tell  stood  in  Christ’s  time  upon  the  coast-line  ?  This 
idea  seems  to  be  negatived,  however,  by  the  presence  of  so 
much  ancient  stonework  and  roadwork  at  el-Araj  and  else¬ 
where  on  the  existing  shore,  and  by  the  fact  that  in  the  time 
of  Josephus  that  district  was  apparently  as  marshy  as  it  is 
now.  Dr.  Torrance,  of  Tiberias,  to  whom  I  afterwards 
mentioned  the  doubt,  and  who  knows  the  lake  shores  as 
thoroughly  as  any  man  living,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  in 
the  first  century  of  our  era  the  coast-line  was  practically  the 
same  as  it  is  now.f 

At  the  foot  of  the  mound  was  a  Mohammedan  burial-place, 
the  tombs  very  roughly  built  of  ragged  stones,  with  an 
upright  one  at  each  end.  About  a  quarter  of  the  way  up  the 
tell  were  the  remains  of  an  ancient  oil-mill,  with  a  circular 
nether  stone  more  than  six  feet  in  diameter.  The  tell  itself 
is  covered  with  rough  buildings,  mostly  made  from  old 
squared  stones,  the  material  doubtless  of  the  ancient  town. 
These  seemed  to  be  storehouses  of  the  Bedawin  similar  to 
those  of  Mesadiyeh. 

°  “  Life,”  §  72.  f  See,  however,  Sanday,  “  Sacred  Sites,”  p.  41. 


A  TRIP  IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHSAIDA 


71 

The  fierce  heat  of  the  sun  could  now  no  longer  be  borne, 
nor,  as  none  of  us  were  armed,  did  it  seem  very  prudent  to 
pry  too  much  among  the  Arab  property,  so  I  did  not  attempt 
a  complete  exploration  of  the  tell.  I  looked  for  the  Roman 
road  which  is  said  to  have  joined  the  place  with  el-Araj,  but 
found  no  trace  of  it ;  though  a  search  under  more  favourable 
conditions  might  very  probably  have  revealed  it.  Turning 
westward  we  left  the  tell  and  found  our  way  to  the  nearest 
point  on  the  Jordan  bank. 

Following  down  the  river  we  presently  discovered  our 
party,  who  had  moored  the  boat  in  the  shade  of  some 
bushes,  where  the  clear  waters  played  music  against  her 
sides.  The  little  bays  and  holes  beneath  the  bank  were  full 
of  fish  and  little  tortoises.  It  was  our  first  near  view  of  the 
Jordan,  and  it  was  not  without  emotion  that  I  found  myself 
floating  on  the  bosom  of  that  venerable  stream. 

Our  Arabs  rowed  us  home  along  the  western  shore  past 
Tell  Hum, 'Ain  Tabigha  and  Khan  Minyeh.  The  two  latter 
have  both  been  identified  by  different  writers  with  the 
supposed  Western  Bethsaida,  a  town  which,  if  the  Gospels 
are  rightly  read,  does  not,  I  think,  need  to  be  looked  for 
either  here  or  anywhere  else.  My  thoughts,  therefore,  in 
this  part  of  our  voyage  ran  rather  upon  the  probable  site  of 
Capernaum  than  on  that  of  Bethsaida  ;  for  Christ's  lake-side 
home  lay  certainly  at  some  point  upon  this  four  or  five 
miles  of  coast. 

Tell  Hum  has  been  known  to  most  of  us  from  childhood's 
days  as  the  place  where  the  ruins  of  Capernaum  are  to  be 
seen.  Pictures  in  magazines  and  books  of  travel  have 
familiarised  us  with  the  scattered  remains  of  its  buildings  ; 
and  the  story  of  the  discovery  of  the  Marble  Synagogue,  the 
very  one  as  we  fondly  believed  which  the  Centurion  of  the 
Gospels  built  for  the  Jewish  people  whom  he  loved,  was  one 
of  the  religious  romances  of  our  youth.  At  this  first  super¬ 
ficial  view  of  the  site,  as  we  passed  it  in  the  boat,  what 
struck  one  concerning  it  was,  first,  its  distance  from  the 
Plain  of  Gennesaret,  and  secondly,  its  low-lying  position. 

The  description  which  Josephus  gives  of  the  “  fertile 
fountain  "  of  Capernaum  which  waters  the  Plain  of  Genne¬ 
saret  f  leads  one  to  infer  that  Capernaum  is  situated  in  or 
just  above  that  plain,  which  Tell  Hum  certainly  is  not. 
This  objection,  it  is  true,  has  been  met  by  supposing  that 
Capernaum's  stream  was  carried  to  the  plain  by  an  aqueduct, 

*  See  Appendix  C.  f  “  Wars,”  iii.  x.  8. 


72 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  possible  remains  of  which  we  shall  by-and-by  examine. 
But  what  about  a  second  objection  ?  Can  yonder  be  the 
Capernaum  which  was  “  exalted  unto  heaven  ?  "  And 
where,  moreover,  is  “  the  mountain"  into  which  Jesus 
called  His  disciples  when  He  chose  the  twelve  ?  Where  is 
that  peaceful  height  to  which  He  would  ascend  for  prayer  ? 
Surely  it  must  have  been  nearer  to  His  home  than  any  of 
the  hills  which  form  a  distant  background  to  Tell  Hum  ! 

And  now  contrast  this  with  el-Minyeh,  which  we  pass 
about  an  hour  later.  There  is  the  green  hill  immediately 
behind  the  ruins.  On  that  lofty  rock  which  overhangs, 
there  are  the  remains  of  a  Roman  castle.  The  town  itself 
may  well  have  climbed  the  height  which  backs  the  narrow 
plain.  For,  this  is  the  northern  point  of  Gennesaret,  where 
its  crescent-shaped  expanse  tapers  off  to  a  point  as  the 
mountains  crowd  toward  the  shore.  Behind  these  nearer 
mountains  rises  the  lofty  and  imposing  peak  of  Safed — a 
three  hours'  climb  from  here.  That  may  well  have  been  the 
“  city  set  on  a  hill"  alluded  to  by  Jesus  in  His  teaching. 
This  little  bay  under  the  shadow  of  the  rock  would  form  a 
harbour  for  the  fishing-boats,  a  feature  that  is  wanting  to 
Tell  Hum.  On  the  whole  our  first  impression  is  much  in 
favour  of  el-Minyeh  as  the  true  site  of  Capernaum.  But 
these  questions  are  not  settled  off-hand,  and  we  must  wait 
for  closer  consideration  before  we  form  a  judgment  on  so 
long-debated  a  question. 

At  the  northern  wall  of  Tiberias  we  beached  our  boat  for 
a  short  time  while  one  of  the  boatmen  was  despatched  to 
the  Scottish  Mission-house  to  ascertain  if  I  could  see 
Dr.  Torrance,  the  resident  physician,  whom  I  wished  to 
consult  about  our  projected  journey  down  the  Ghor. 

The  doctor  was  not  at  home ;  but  late  in  the  evening, 
accompanied  by  Hanna,  I  dragged  my  weary  limbs  along 
the  shore  from  our  tent  to  his  house,  one  of  the  muleteers 
preceding  us  with  a  lantern.  We  had  some  difficulty  in 
groping  our  way  by  the  narrow  streets  to  the  door,  and 
when  we  stood  there  all  the  dogs  of  the  town  seemed  to  be 
surrounding  us  in  a  menacing  circle,  with  such  a  chorus  of 
fierce  barking  that  we  could  not  hear  each  other  speak. 
At  length  we  effected  an  entrance,  and  were  most  kindly  and 
graciously  received. 

The  doctor,  brisk,  practical,  energetic,  kind-hearted,  after 
the  manner  of  the  British  practitioner,  thought  the  season 
favourable  for  the  journey, and  on  the  whole  was  encouraging. 


A  TRIP  IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHSAIDA 


73 


Hanna,  who  had  been  admitted  to  the  conference,  felt  some 
timidity  ;  averred  that  he  had  no  acquaintance  with  those 
Arab  tribes  of  the  Ghor,  that  they  were  often  dangerous, 
that  he  doubted  if  we  should  find  any  road  or  any  camping- 
grounds,  and  all  the  other  objections  which  a  dragoman 
usually  raises  when  he  is  instructed  to  go  off  his  beat 
All  these  imaginary  difficulties  the  good  doctor  brushed 
aside  ;  could  not  see  where  the  difficulty  came  in,  spoke  of 
the  matter  with  a  general  of-course-ness,  but  gave  us  the 
very  practical  promise  to  speak  to  the  Kaimmakam  on  our 
behalf  and  get  a  letter  from  his  Excellency  together  with 
a  man  who  knew  the  district,  and  these  preparations  he 
promised  to  have  ready  by  the  time  that  we  reached 
Tiberias  again  on  our  return  journey.  And  so  we  sallied 
forth  into  the  darkness,  woke  our  muleteer,  who  was  dozing 
on  the  doorstep,  and  followed  his  lantern  back  to  the 
camp. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

FROM  TIBERIAS  THROUGH  GENNESARET  TO  TELL  HUM 

At  a  little  after  six  the  next  morning  we  broke  up  our  camp 
and  started  northward.  Our  tents  had  been  pitched,  as  I 
have  said,  about  a  mile  south  of  Tiberias,  so  we  had  to  pass 
the  town  in  order  to  reach  the  bridle-path  which  runs  thence 
to  the  Ghuweir  or  Land  of  Gennesaret.  As  we  approached 
the  walls  we  came  upon  a  strange  and  interesting  sight.  It 
chanced  to  be  one  of  the  mornings  which  occur  at  regular 
intervals  (every  month,  Hanna  said)  when  the  Jews  com¬ 
memorate  their  dead.  Troops  of  Jewesses  were  issuing  from 
the  city  and  trudging  towards  us,  most  of  them  carrying 
small  pots  or  cans  containing  some  liquid  which  they  were 
careful  not  to  spill.  When  we  reached  the  burial-place,  a 
straggling  area  of  stony  and  ragged  ground,  apparently 
without  boundary  or  protection,  the  mystery  of  these  vessels 
was  explained.  They  contained  whitewash  ;  and  numbers 
of  the  women  were  busy  among  the  graves,  whitening  the 
stones  till  they  gleamed  out  in  the  morning  light,  the 
veritable  “ whited  sepulchres"  of  Scripture. 

It  was  a  weird  scene.  While  some  of  the  poor  creatures 
were  busy  among  the  tombs  making  them  “  outwardly 
appear  beautiful,"  others  had  thrown  themselves  prostrate 
on  their  dead  with  passionate  weeping.  A  few  were  sitting 
upon  the  whitened  mounds  conning  the  Hebrew  psalms, 
but  many  more  rocked  themselves  to  and  fro  and  filled  the 
air  with  a  monotonous  melancholy  chant  which  came  to  us 
like  the  wail  of  the  wind  over  some  barren  moor. 

I  have  seen  the  mourning  customs  of  the  peasantry  in  the 
Highland  kirkyard,  and  the  green  graveyards  of  Ireland,  in 
the  Swiss  mountains,  the  flats  of  Holland  and  the  snows  of 
Norway,  and  all  are  impressive  and  pathetic,  but  nowhere 
have  I  beheld  a  scene  so  weird  and  foreign,  so  eerie  and 
lonely  and  apart  from  human  ways,  as  this  mourning  among 
the  Jews  of  Palestine.  We  left  them  there  in  the  grey 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  TELL  HUM 


75 


morning,  and  rode  on  past  the  ruined  walls  and  towers  of 
Tiberias. 

The  ride  from  Tiberias  northward  is  along  the  waterside. 
The  lake-shore  was  luxuriant  with  oleanders  bursting  into 
bloom  and  many  unknown  flowers  among  the  grass,  especially 
a  pale  yellow  scabious,  the  most  abundant  of  all  the  blossoms 
hereabout.  Large  butterflies  floated  past  us  on  gorgeous 
wing.  We  noticed  a  blue  and  red  kingfisher  diving  for  his 
prey,  and  numberless  little  tufted  larks,  common  everywhere 
in  Palestine,  which  do  not  rise  like  our  skylark,  but  hop 
from  stone  to  stone,  uttering  a  clear  fragmentary  little  song 
something  like  our  robin's. 

At  Mejdel  we  made  a  pause,  for  this  is  the  ancient  Magdala 
from  which  probably  came  Mary  Magdalene.  Even  here, 
however,  as  almost  everywhere  in  Palestine,  certainty  is 
denied  us.  We  have  to  remember  that  the  name  Magdala 
is  derived  from  migdal,  a  tower,  and  that  there  were  many 
towers  in  Palestine.  This  particular  Mejdel  is  three  miles 
from  Tiberias,  while  the  Babylonian  Talmud  speaks  of  a 
Migdal  Nunya,  or  fish-tower,  which  was  only  one  mile  from 
Tiberias,  and  the  Jerusalem  Talmud  confirms  this  account 
in  placing  Magdala  within  a  Sabbath  day's  journey  of  that 
city.  There  may,  therefore,  have  been  two  migdals  in  this 
neighbourhood.  Which  of  the  two  was  the  wealthy  and 
luxurious  Magdala  spoken  of  in  the  Jerusalem  Talmud,  said 
to  have  been  destroyed  because  of  licentiousness,  we  cannot 
say. 

“  The  one,  doubtless,  from  which  Mary  Magdalene  came  ” 
interposes  the  hasty  reader.  But  here,  again,  what  reason 
have  we  for  associating  Mary  Magdalene  with  licentious¬ 
ness  ?  The  notion  appears  to  be  based  upon  the  groundless 
identification  of  Mary  Magdalene  with  the  “ sinner"  of 
Luke  vii.  36-50.  All  that  we  really  know  about  her  is  that 
she  came  from  a  place  named  Magdala,  that  she  was  one  of 
the  women  who  accompanied  Jesus  and  ministered  to  Him, 
and  that  Jesus  was  believed  to  have  cast  out  seven  devils 
from  her.  This  last  belief,  having  regard  to  Oriental  notions, 
would  point,  not  to  her  having  lived  a  dissolute  life,  but 
rather  to  her  having  at  one  time  been  mentally  affected,  and 
to  this  affection  having  several  times  returned.* 

Whether  or  not  there  was  another  migdal  near  to  Tiberias 
(distinguished  perhaps  from  this  one  as  Migdal  Nunya  or 
the  fish-tower),  one  may  with  some  likelihood  surmise  the 
c  “  Encyclopedia  Biblica,”  arts.  “  Magdala”  and  “  Mary.” 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


76 

Mejdel  where  we  have  now  alighted  to  have  been  the  actual 
Magdala  from  which  Mary  came.  It  was  very  near  to  Jesus' 
home  and  to  the  scene  of  so  many  of  His  teachings,  for  it 
stands  on  the  southernmost  margin  of  the  Plain  of  Genne- 
saret,  and  was  in  all  probability  the  watch-tower  which 
guarded  the  entrance  to  the  plain.  At  the  present  day  it  is 
a  wretched  little  place,  a  mere  heap  of  scattered  ruins  and 
tangled  rubbish,  in  which  a  few  dirty  mud-huts  lie  half  buried, 
the  whole  disorderly  heap  being  dignified  only  by  one  or 
two  palms  which  rise  in  the  midst  and  wave  a  benediction 
over  the  memories  of  the  past.  Close  beside  the  palm-trees 
incongruously  rises  stark  and  straight  a  telegraph  post, 
aggressively  asserting  modernity.  It  is  one  of  a  line  which 
we  see  stretching  away  over  the  mountain  ridge  upon  our 
left,  and  which  tells  of  some  distant  civilisation  far  removed 
in  every  way  from  these  poor  hovels  of  Mejdel. 

We  mounted  again,  and  proceeded  to  traverse  the  Land  of 
Gennesaret.  The  plain  so  called  in  Scripture  is  between 
three  and  four  miles  in  length,  and  shaped,  as  already  indi¬ 
cated,  somewhat  like  a  crescent  moon,  being  widest  half¬ 
way  between  its  two  extremities,  and  tapering  off  at  each  end 
to  points  where  the  mountains  almost  touch  the  sea.  All 
along  the  shore  of  Gennesaret  the  blooming  oleanders  grow 
in  thick  masses.  The  plain  is  crossed  by  several  streams, 
one  at  Mejdel,  three  others  in  the  midst  of  the  plain,  and  a 
fifth  at  Khan  Minyeh  on  the  northern  extremity.  The  last- 
mentioned  is  a  very  beautiful  spring  or  fountain  called  Ain 
et-Tin  (the  fountain  of  the  fig-tree),  and  there,  sure  enough, 
is  the  aged  fig-tree  overhanging  the  crystal  waters  with  its 
large  glossy  leaves.  The  spring  gushes  from  beneath  a  pic¬ 
turesque  and  precipitous  rock,  which  projects  into  the  water 
of  the  lake,  and  so  completely  closes  the  northern  end  of 
Gennesaret  that  the  only  exits  from  the  plain  in  that  direction 
are  over  the  rocks  or  by  a  circuit  up  the  mountain-slope. 

Near  to  the  pool  of  the  fig-tree  lie  the  ruins  of  an  ancient 
Saracenic  inn  called  Khan  Minyeh,  and  not  far  from  them 
some  fragmentary  walls.  The  most  extensive  traces  of  ruins, 
however,  in  the  neighbourhood  are  out  in  the  plain  at  a 
distance  of  about  430  paces  to  the  south.  Here  there  are 
remains  of  massive  walls  and  arches.  The  stones  are  joined 
with  mortar,  and  many  of  them  are  of  considerable  size. 
Some  which  I  measured  were  3  feet  6  inches  in  length  by 
1  foot  9  inches  in  breadth.  Also,  the  boundary  walls  be¬ 
tween  the  fields,  loosely  piled  up  by  modern  hands,  are  full 


f?. 


FIG.  II.  —  KHAN  MINYKH  AND  DAI N  KT  TIN,  GENNES \KET 


FIG.  12  —AIN  TAHIGHA:  THE  OCTAGONAL  ENCLOSURE 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  TELL  HUM  77 

of  large  squared  stones  doubtless  taken  from  the  ancient 
ruins.  I  spent  some  time  wandering  among  these  fragments, 
and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  whatever  might  be  said  in 
favour  of  Tell  Hum  as  the  site  of  Capernaum  (as  against  el- 
Minyeh),  no  stress  can  fairly  be  laid  upon  the  argument  that 
Minyeh  is  lacking  in  extensive  ruins.  The  plough  has,  in¬ 
deed,  passed  over  the  site,  but  traces  remain,  notwithstanding 
this,  of  what  may  well  have  been  a  town  of  considerable 
extent.* 

We  must  not  leave  this  place  without  noticing  the  great 
bed  of  papyrus  which  grows  in  a  swamp  where  the  fountain 
flows  into  the  lake.  It  is  one  of  two  places  in  Palestine 
where  the  papyrus,  which  is  now  extinct  in  Egypt,  still 
flourishes,  the  other  being  Lake  Huleh. 

From  Khan  Minyeh  we  climbed  a  little  way  up  the  hill 
and  turned  into  the  trough  of  the  old  Roman  aqueduct, 
which  is  here  hollowed  in  the  rock.  This  is  the  aqueduct 
alluded  to  in  the  previous  chapter,  which  plays  so  con¬ 
siderable  a  part  in  the  Capernaum  controversy. 

The  point  upon  which  it  bears  is  as  follows  :  Josephus 
says  that  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret  is  “  watered  throughout  ” 
by  a  most  fertile  fountain,  which  the  people  of  the  country 
call  “  Capharnaoum.”  At  first  sight,  then,  one  would  infer 
that  Capernaum  was  situated  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret ;  and 
if  that  was  so,  Tell  Hum,  which  is  two  and  a  half  miles  from 
Gennesaret,  cannot  be  Capernaum.  On  further  considera¬ 
tion,  however,  one  perceives  that  the  spring  and  village  of 
Capernaum  may  have  been  far  from  Gennesaret,  provided 
that  the  water  of  the  spring  was  conveyed  by  an  aqueduct 
to  the  plain  of  that  name.  Now,  there  is  no  notable  spring 
in  Gennesaret  itself  which  could  possibly  have  watered  the 
plain  “  throughout ;  ”  but  there  is  such  a  spring,  a  very  notable, 
very  copious,  and  very  fertile  one,  in  the  adjoining  plain  of 
Tabigha,  which  lies  to  the  north  of  Gennesaret,  and  is 
separated  from  it  by  this  barrier  of  rocks  over  which  we  are 
now  supposed  to  be  travelling. 

Was  the  Tabigha  stream,  then,  the  Fountain  “  Caphar- 
naoum  ”  ?  and  were  its  waters  conveyed  by  an  aqueduct  to 
the  Plain  of  Gennesaret?  “  Yes/'  say  the  advocates  of  the 
Tell  Hum  site,  “  the  spring  of  Tabigha  is  the  only  one  that 

*  The  late  Sir  Charles  Wilson  told  me  that  he  found  nothing  but 
Arab  remains  here,  but  admitted  that  he  had  excavated  for  only  two 
days.  Two  days’  excavation  by  native  workmen  does  not  amount  to 
much. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


78 

answers  to  Josephus’  description  of  the  Fountain  1  Caphar- 
naoum,’  and  its  waters  were  doubtless  conveyed  to  the  Plain 
of  Gennesaret  by  this  rock-cut  trough.”  Adopting  this  view, 
they  proceed  to  argue  that  this  disposes  of  the  necessity 
for  looking  for  Capernaum  in  Gennesaret  itself,  and  they 
furthermore  hold  that  Tell  Hum,  which  is  about  two  miles 
from  Tabigha,  is  not  too  far  removed  from  the  spring  to  bear 
the  same  name. 

The  argument,  it  will  be  seen,  is  permissive.  If  it  is 
granted,  it  makes  Tel  Hum  possible  as  the  site  of  Caper¬ 
naum,  but  it  does  not  of  itself  supply  any  positive  grounds 
for  the  identification.  I  may  say  briefly,  without  entering 
further  into  the  question  at  present,  that  the  conclusion  I 
came  to  was  that  this  trough  in  the  rock  was,  indeed,  an  old 
aqueduct ;  that  it  did,  indeed,  convey  the  waters  of  Tabigha 
to  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret,  and  yet  that  Tel  Hum  was  not 
Capernaum. 

Meanwhile,  it  was  only  as  a  road  that  we  were  personally 
concerned  with  the  trough  in  question,  and  a  shockingly  bad 
road  it  makes,  with  its  semi-circular  channel  polished  to  a 
fine  glaze  by  the  hoofs  of  countless  beasts  of  burden. 
However,  our  horses  managed  to  slide  and  scramble 
through  it,  and  we  found  ourselves  presently  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  rocky  barrier  which  shuts  away  the  Plain  of 
Gennesaret. 

Not  far  from  the  point  where  we  issued  into  the  open  we 
came  upon  the  settlement  of  the  German  Catholic  Palestine 
Society,  where  we  inquired  our  way  to  Ain  et-Tabigha.  We 
were  promptly  informed  that  the  true  and  only  Ain  et- 
Tabigha  was  the  little  runnel  of  sweet  water  which  trickled 
through  their  own  secluded  grounds  on  its  way  down  to  the 
lake  !  It  was  clear,  however,  that  if  “  Tabigha  ”  is  derived, 
as  it  is  said  to  be,  from  Heptapegon,  the  seven  streams,* 
the  true  Tabigha  was  the  great  flood  of  brackish  water  which 
rushed  by  numerous  channels  down  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee 
at  some  little  distance  from  the  German  settlement.  The 

*  Sanday  (“  Sacred  Sites,”  p.  40)  speaks  of  Ain  el-Tabigha  as  “  the 
ancient  Heptapegon,”  but  does  not  quote  authorities.  Thomson,  in 
“  The  Land  and  the  Book,  p.  356,”  gives  a  different  derivation,  namely, 
from  Dabbaga,  the  Arabic  for  tannery,  “  and,  no  doubt,”  he  adds, 
“  the  tanneries  of  Capernaum  were  actually  at  these  fountains,  what¬ 
ever  may  be  true  in  regard  to  the  name.  And  if  a  city  should  again 
rise  in  this  vicinity  the  tanneries  belonging  to  it  would  certainly  be 
located  here,  for  the  water  is  precisely  the  kind  best  adapted  to  that 
business.” 


79 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  TELL  HUM 

purport  of  my  inquiry  was,  in  fact,  not  where  to  find  the 
stream,  but  where  to  find  the  Ain,  or  source  of  the  stream, 
with  its  large  octagonal  enclosure,  of  which  I  had  previously 
read,  and  the  relation  of  which  to  the  channel  through 
which  we  had  just  ridden,  has  an  important  bearing  on 
the  question  whether  that  channel  is  indeed  a  road  or  an 
aqueduct. 

This  octagonal  wall  enclosing  the  spring  we  soon  dis¬ 
covered  higher  up  the  hillside  upon  our  left  (Fig.  12).  It 
is  a  remarkable  structure,  apparently  very  ancient,  but  of 
well-fitted  blocks  of  stone,  and  in  its  neighbourhood  are  con¬ 
siderable  remains  of  masonry.  The  stream  which  issues  from 
this  source  is  warm  as  well  as  brackish,  and  one  may  guess 
that  it  was  used  in  old  times  for  baths  similar  to  those  at 
Tiberias.  May  it  not  be,  then,  that  the  rock-aqueduct 
through  which  we  had  just  passed  carried  this  volcanic  water 
for  such  a  purpose  to  the  towns  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret, 
and  that  this  partly  answers  the  question,  which  has  often 
been  asked,  why  this  water  should  be  conveyed  at  so  much 
expense,  when  the  plain  might  so  much  more  easily  have 
been  irrigated  from  the  Rubudiyeh,  or  other  streams  which 
come  down  the  wadis  on  the  north  ?  As  to  the  fragments 
of  ruin  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  spring,  one  speaks  with 
diffidence  about  a  place  where  the  eyes  of  experts  have  often 
been  busy  ;  but  to  a  layman  in  these  matters  the  possibility 
is  certainly  suggested  that  if  Minyeh  marks  the  site  of  Caper¬ 
naum,  a  portion  of  the  city  was  built  up  here  on  the  hillside, 
round  about  the  spring,  and  that  this  lofty  position,  looking 
down  upon  the  Galilean  Sea  and  the  towns  along  its  shore, 
suggested  the  form  of  that  sentence  of  doom  :  “  Thou 
Capernaum,  which  art  exalted  unto  heaven,  shaltbe  brought 
down  to  hell.” 

Descending  again  to  the  water-side  we  waded  through 
the  torrents  of  et-Tabigha,  and  did  not  pause  until  we 
reached  the  famous  place  known  as  Tell  Hum.  But  here 
a  great  disappointment  awaited  us.  The  Franciscan  monks, 
who  have  bought  and  enclosed  the  site,  either  could  not  or 
would  not  show  us  anything.  Old  photographs  and  well- 
known  pictures  led  us  to  expect  extensive  ruins,  yet 
nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  a  few  loose  fragments  of  white 
stone.  Hanna  believed  from  their  manner  that  they  were 
purposely  concealing  something.  Perhaps  it  was  that  we 
had  come  unarmed  with  any  permit  from  the  guardian  at 
Tiberias,  which  Baedeker  advises  travellers  to  take  ;  or 


8o 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


perhaps  what  Hanna  said  that  he  had  heard  is  indeed  the 
truth,  that  the  monks  have  carefully  hidden  all  the  relics 
lest  the  Turkish  government  should  appropriate  them.* 
However  this  may  be,  we  saw  nothing  except  a  few  frag¬ 
ments  piled  promiscuously  near  to  the  door  of  their 
hospice.  So  we  had  to  content  ourselves  with  lunching 
in  their  spacious  guest-room,  glad  to  be  out  of  the  midday 
glare,  and  with  indulging  in  a  cool  siesta  while  Hanna 
went  in  search  of  a  Bedawi  guide  to  show  us  the  path  up 
the  mountain  to  the  ruins  of  Chorazin. 

The  brethren,  who  by  the  way  were  all  Italians,  assured 
me  in  answer  to  my  inquiries  that  there  was  no  spring  at 
all  at  Tell  Hum,  and  that,  as  they  believed  that  the  lake- 
water  caused  fever,  they  sent  for  all  their  drinking-water 
to  the  German  Catholic  settlement  at  Ain-Tabigha. 

*  The  late  Sir  Charles  Wilson  told  me  that,  so  far  as  the  White 
Synagogue  is  concerned,  this  is  indeed  the  case ;  that  he  knew  the 
place  where  its  remains  were  buried,  a  mound  now  planted  with  fruit- 
trees.  A  re-excavation  by  a  German  society  is  at  present  (1906)  in 
progress. 


CHAPTER  XV 

FROM  TELL  HUM  THROUGH  CHORAZIN  TO  SAFED 

The  Bedawi  whom  Hanna  engaged  to  guide  us  to  Kera- 
zeh  (the  ancient  Chorazin)  was  a  mild-looking  elderly  man, 
rather  short  and  spare,  who  carried  a  gun  slung  upon  his 
back,  very  long  in  the  barrel  and  highly  ornamented  on 
the  stock — one  of  those  ancient  muskets  of  the  flint-and- 
steel  order  which  are  still  in  use  among  the  Bedawin,  and 
handed  down  by  them  as  heirlooms  from  father  to  son. 

From  the  enclosure  at  Tell  Hum  we  struck  inland  up  a 
long  stony  slope,  passing  here  and  there,  among  the  natural 
boulders,  carefully  squared  blocks  and  other  traces  of  the 
ancient  town,  the  most  important  which  we  noticed  being 
a  marble  sarcophagus.  The  path  by  which  our  guide  took 
us  was  no  path  at  all,  and  as  we  proceeded  we  found  our¬ 
selves  among  a  very  chaos  of  huge  lumps  of  rock.  Among 
these  our  horses  picked  their  way  at  the  risk  of  breaking 
their  legs  and  our  necks.  Several  times  they  slipped  and 
recovered  themselves  with  difficulty.  Their  coats  streamed 
with  sweat.  Meanwhile  the  old  Bedawi  hopped  from 
boulder  to  boulder  in  the  most  marvellous  manner  without 
once  losing  the  big  slippers  which  by  some  conjuring 
device  hung  persistently  upon  his  shrunken  feet.  Every 
now  and  then  he  would  stop,  and  turning  round  await  our 
laborious  advance,  he  himself  being  apparently  quite  cool 
and  not  at  all  out  of  breath. 

Professor  George  A.  Smith,  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Biblica 
(art.  “  Chorazin  "),  estimates  the  distance  from  Tell  Hum  to 
Kerazeh  as  “  about  one  mile."  It  is,  however,  more  than 
double  that  distance,  even  when  measured  in  a  straight  line. 
Jerome,  whom  he  quotes,  is  nearer  the  mark  when  he  says 
two  Roman  miles,  though  this  also  is  too  little,  for  a  Roman 
mile  was  equal  to  only  1618  English  yards.  It  is  not 
absolutely  certain,  however,  that  Jerome  means  Kerazeh 
when  he  speaks  of  Chorazin,  for  he  describes  the  town  as 

F 


82 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


being  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  although  there  is  a  peep 
of  the  lake  looking  down  the  wadi  from  Kerazeh,  the 
nearest  point  of  the  shore  is  fully  two  miles  away.  Perhaps 
the  ancient  city  extended  in  scattered  fashion  down  the 
wadi  to  the  lake  shore.  This  would  explain  Jerome’s 
description,  and  it  would  also  give  point  to  the  fact  that 
Jesus  links  together  Bethsaida,  Chorazin  and  Capernaum 
in  pronouncing  His  record  woes,  as  though  they  were  all 
lake-side  towns  or  all  simultaneously  in  sight,  as  in  that 
case  they  might  from  some  points  of  view  have  been. 

There  could  not,  in  any  case,  be  much  doubt  as  to  the 
ruins  at  which  we  had  now  arrived  being  in  fact  those  of 
the  ancient  Chorazin.  The  survival  of  the  name  with  so 
slight  a  corruption  would  seem  almost  sufficient  of  itself 
to  prove  the  identity.  We  remembered,  moreover,  that 
Jesus  bracketed  Chorazin  with  Tyre  and  Sidon,  as  though  it 
were  a  town  of  some  extent,  and  we  could  see  for  ourselves 
that  such  a  town  must  at  one  time  have  occupied  this  site. 

The  ruins,  composed  of  black  basalt  (for  we  are  here  on 
the  edge  of  that  circular  eruption  of  basalt  of  which  Safed 
is  the  crown  and  centre),  are  utterly  dislocated  and  thrown 
together  in  confusion  by  earthquakes  and  natural  con¬ 
vulsions.  The  blocks  are  of  magnificent  size,  and  among 
them  are  some  beautiful  pieces  of  carving;  one  in  particular, 
a  conchoidal  ornament  lying  near  to  some  gigantic  mono¬ 
liths,  perhaps  the  lintels  of  a  doorway,  belongs  probably  to 
the  entrance  of  the  principal  synagogue  (Fig.  14.) 

From  Kerazeh  the  old  Bedawi  continued  to  guide  us  on 
our  way  to  Safed.  The  same  terrible  sort  of  “road”  from 
which  we  had  already  suffered,  continued  for  most  of  the 
way  until  we  reached  a  lonely  mosque  beside  a  ruined  khan 
known  as  Khan  Jubb  Yusuf.  The  khan  is  on  very  high 
ground  (for  we  had  been  climbing  ever  since  we  left  Tell 
Hum),  and  round  it  was  grouped  a  picturesque  crowd  of 
Arabs.  It  is  not  in  any  way  noteworthy,  unless  it  be  for  the 
fact  that  here  the  pit  is  shown  into  which  Joseph  was  put  by 
his  brethren.  This  was  the  third  of  Joseph’s  pits  which  had 
been  pointed  out  to  us  in  the  course  of  our  travels  ;  for  we 
had  already  seen  one  at  Cairo  *  and  another  at  Dothan  ! 

*  Joseph’s  Well  at  Cairo  is  in  the  Citadel,  near  the  mosque  of  Ibn 
Kalaun.  The  Jews  of  the  city  are  credited  with  having  originated  the 
legend  that  this  is  the  well  into  which  the  Patriarch  was  cast.  The 
real  Joseph  to  whom  the  well  pertains  is  no  other  than  our  old  friend 
Saladin,  whose  full  name  was  El-Melik  En-Nasir  Salah-ed-din  Yusuf 


FROM  TELL  HUM  TO  SAFED  83 

From  this  point  there  was  a  path  of  some  sort,  but 
terribly  hard  at  times,  and  once  I  was  within  an  inch  of 
death.  We  were  passing  along  a  rocky  path,  with  a  sheer 
precipice  below  us  upon  our  right.  Just  at  this  critical  point 
my  little  steed,  usually  so  sure-footed,  slipped,  and  one  foot 
went  over  the  edge  of  the  narrow  track.  For  a  few  moments 
of  awful  suspense  there  was  a  desperate  scrambling,  and 
sparks  flew  from  the  rock  ;  then  the  footing  was  regained 
and  the  horse  stood  with  trembling  limbs. 

The  wadi  through  which  we  came  before  the  final  climb 
to  Safed  was  magnificent  beyond  anything  I  ever  saw  out¬ 
side  the  Alps  ;  cliffs  towered  above  us  and  the  gulfs  below 
seemed  fathomless.  The  paths  which  wind  through  the 
chasms  surrounding  the  city  are  intricate,  and  for  once  our 
dragoman  was  puzzled,  but  a  little  lad  in  kumbaz  and  tar- 
bush,  who  had  been  sent  by  our  pioneers  to  guide  us  to  the 
camp,  came  running  to  meet  us,  and  we  presently  issued 
from  the  maze. 

We  entered  the  town  by  the  Mohammedan  quarter,  and 
one  of  the  first  things  we  saw  was  a  wedding  procession. 
A  troop  of  women,  dressed  in  the  brightest  colours,  came 
towards  us  chanting,  or,  rather,  screaming  a  melancholy 
phrase,  consisting  of  only  two  notes 


0  ^ 

! 

— 

K  IS  S  - 

R-H-Jg 

5 — ® 

1  n*  r*  r* 

1  Ct— ) 

&  &  m..cJ 

The  phrase  may  be  written  in  any  octave  you  like,  the  upper 
note  being  simply  a  shriek.  Every  now  and  then  the 
“  song  ”  was  broken  in  upon  by  one  of  the  women  sending 
forth  the  piercing  trill  of  the  zagharit  :  the  whole  effect 
being  most  melancholy  and  weird.  Whether  or  not  it  was 
intended  for  joy  I  do  not  know  ;  convention  may  require 
such  an  expression  ;  but  in  fact  marriage  cannot  but  be 
for  the  Mohammedan  girl  a  dreaded  if  not  heartbreaking 
affair. 

This  procession  of  women,  Hanna  explained,  was  going 
to  fetch  the  bride  from  her  parents’  house  in  order  to  con¬ 
duct  her  to  the  house  of  the  bridegroom.  If  he  was  correct 
in  this  statement,  then  the  wedding  ceremony  was  such  a 
one  as  that  described  in  1  Maccabees  ix.  37  et  seq.,  in 

Ibn-Eiyoob.  The  well  existed  before  his  time,  but  he  re-opened  it  and 

named  it  after  himself. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


84 

which  the  processions  of  bride  and  of  bridegroom  go  to  meet 
each  other,  for  we  presently  met  the  bridegroom’s  procession 
coming  towards  us,  so  that  as  the  women  returned  with  the 
bride  they  must  have  come  face  to  face  with  the  bride¬ 
groom.  In  the  Maccabean  story  “the  children  of  Jambri 
were  making  a  great  marriage,  and  were  bringing  the  bride 
from  Nadabath  with  a  great  train,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the 
great  rulers  of  Canaan.  .  .  .  And  the  bridegroom  came 
forth,  and  his  friends  and  his  brethren,  to  meet  them  with 
timbrels,  and  minstrels,  and  many  weapons.”  It  would 
appear,  from  various  accounts,  that  all  these  forms  of  pro¬ 
cedure  obtain  in  the  East — the  bridegroom  may  come  to 
the  bride’s  house  to  fetch  her,  the  bride  may  be  conducted 
by  her  friends  to  the  bridegroom’s  house,  or,  finally,  the 
two  processions  may  meet,  though  the  last  is  not  so 
common.1  However  this  may  be,  we  presently  met,  as  I 
have  said,  the  men’s  procession  coming  from  the  bride¬ 
groom’s  house.  They  were  beating  a  small  drum  or 
“  tubble,”  clapping  their  hands  in  rhythm  all  together,  and 
all  chanting  in  a  monotone.  In  their  midst  was  the  happy 
man,  walking  slowly  along.  Beside  him  were  friends 
carrying  chairs,  which  Hanna  explained  were  always 
carried  on  such  occasions,  in  case  the  bridegroom  might 
wish  to  sit  down  and  rest. 

We  saw  nothing  more  of  the  proceedings  till  after  dark, 
when  a  dance  took  place  just  behind  our  camp.  The  com¬ 
pany  at  the  dance  consisted,  of  course,  of  men  only,  and 
the  music  was  of  the  same  drumming  and  clapping  which 
we  had  already  observed.  The  men  stood  in  rows  and 
swayed  their  bodies  to  and  fro  to  the  sound  of  the  primitive 
music.  This  went  on  until  it  was  quite  dark,  and  long  after 
we  had  retired  to  rest  the  stillness  of  the  night  was  broken 
by  the  intermittent  firing  of  guns,  one  of  the  common 
tokens  of  rejoicing.  This  wedding  took  place  upon  a 
Wednesday,  the  fourth  day  of  the  week,  which  is  the 
orthodox  day  for  the  marriage  of  a  virgin. f 

The  Mohammedans  form  less  than  half  the  population  of 
Safed,  nearly  all  the  rest  being  Jews.  Safed  is,  in  fact,  one 
of  the  four  cities  which  the  Jews  hold  sacred,  the  other  three 
being  Jerusalem,  Hebron,  and  Tiberias.  They  believe  that 
the  Messiah  will  come  from  Safed,  or  rather  that  He  will 

*  “  Encyclopaedia  Biblica,”  art.  “  Marriage.” 

f  “  Palestine  in  the  Time  of  Christ,”  E.  Stapfer,  p.  163. 


FROM  TELL  HUM  TO  SAFED 


85 


rise  up  from  the  waters  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  assemble  His 
followers  in  Tiberias,  and  thence  march  hither  to  Safed,  where 
H  is  throne  will  be  established  for  forty  years,  before  He 
goes  forth  into  the  wider  world.  All  this  seems  strangely 
out  of  harmony  with  the  ancient  Jewish  prejudice  against 
Galilee. 

The  town  itself,  though  it  is  not  mentioned  in  Scripture, 
is  mentioned  in  the  Talmud  ;  but  the  present  Jewish  settle¬ 
ment  there  dates  only  from  the  sixteenth  century  a.d.  It 
was  founded  by  Spanish  Jews,  near  descendants  of  those 
who  were  driven  out  of  Spain  by  Isabella  I.  These 
Sephardim  Jews  still  speak  a  Spanish  patois,  and  they 
practise  polygamy.  They  form,  however,  only  a  small  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  whole  Jewish  colony,  the  greater  part  being 
of  Polish  descent.  These  Polish  Jews,  who  crowd  the  streets 
of  Tiberias  and  Safed,  are  pale  and  sickly  in  appearance, 
weedy  in  growth,  with  bent  shoulders  as  if  they  still  bore 
the  yoke  of  contempt  which  their  fathers  bore  in  Egypt. 
They  wear  long  cotton  gowns,  and  round-crowned  “  pot ” 
hats  made  of  soft  felt,  and  their  countenances  are  adorned 
by  two  curls,  one  on  each  cheek,  like  the  traditional  Shylock. 
This  custom  of  wearing  curls  is  said  to  arise  from  a  mis¬ 
understanding  of  Leviticus  xix.  27  :  “  Ye  shall  not  round 
the  corners  of  your  heads,  neither  shalt  thou  mar  the 
corners  of  thy  beard.” 

They  have  many  other  such  superstitions.  Dr.  Thomson, 
in  “The  Land  and  the  Book,”  speaking  of  Safed, remarks  that 
formerly,  being  an  unwalled  city,  it  was  surrounded  every 
Sabbath  by  a  string  stretched  from  post  to  post.  This 
string  was  held  to  represent  the  wall  of  the  city,  and  its 
erection  relieved  the  Jews  from  a  certain  legal  difficulty.  A 
Jew  must  not  carry  on  the  Sabbath  even  so  much  as  a 
pocket-handkerchief,  except  within  the  walls  of  the  city  ; 
if  there  are  no  walls  he  must  not  carry  it  at  all ;  within  the 
string,  therefore,  a  conscientious  Jew  may  carry  his  hand¬ 
kerchief  without  feeling  that  he  has  broken  the  law.  Dr. 
Thomson  goes  on  to  narrate  that  he  was  once  amused  by 
a  devout  Israelite  who  was  walking  with  him  on  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  toward  the  grove  of  olive-trees  on  the  north  of 
the  town,  where  the  doctor's  tent  was  pitched.  When 
they  came  to  the  end  of  the  street  they  found  that  the  string 
was  gone.  This  his  companion  regarded  as  a  great  con¬ 
venience,  since  he  was  now  at  liberty  to  go  on  without 


86 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


reference  to  what  was  in  his  pocket,  because  he  had  not 
passed  the  wall  * 

We  shall  have  more  to  say  about  the  Jews  when  we  visit 
Tiberias  again  on  our  return  journey  ;  meanwhile  as  we 
sit  in  the  door  of  our  tent,  glance  yonder  at  that  little  group 
upon  our  left.  Our  little  groom,  Mohammed,  has  friends 
in  Safed,  and  they  have  come  to  the  camp  to  see  him.  Note 
the  effusiveness  of  the  greetings,  the  men  kissing  each  other 
first  on  one  cheek  and  then  on  the  other,  two  or  three  times 
over.  See  how  they  stand  clasping  each  other's  hands, 
while  questions  and  exclamations  are  poured  forth  on  either 
side.  They  have  none  of  our  occidental  reserve.  Burton, 
in  his  “  Pilgrimage  to  Al-Medinah  "  (p.  287),  speaks  of  the 
same  freedom  of  expression  among  the  Bedawin  :  “  Friends 
and  comrades  greeted  each  other,  regardless  of  rank  or 
fortune,  with  affectionate  embraces  and  an  abundance  of 
queries,  which  neither  party  seemed  to  think  of  answering. 
The  general  mode  of  saluting  was  to  throw  one  arm  over 
the  shoulder  and  the  other  round  the  side,  placing  the  chin 
first  upon  the  left  and  then  upon  the  right  collar-bone,  and 
rapidly  shifting  till  a  jam  satis  suggested  itself  to  both 
parties."  If  one  is  apt,  however,  to  regret  our  own  shame¬ 
facedness  and  coldness  of  manner  which  forbid  the  full 
expression  of  feelings  that  are  often  warm  and  even 
passionate  beneath,  we  must  remember  that  the  same 
absence  of  restraint  which  shows  itself  in  moments  of 
friendship,  equally  shows  itself  in  moments  of  enmity  or 
dispute,  and  that  in  the  East  hatred  is  as  ungoverned  as 
affection. 

However,  we  may  leave  Mohammed  and  his  friends  to 
squat  upon  the  ground  and  sip  their  coffee  in  the  gathering 
shadows  ;  for  ourselves,  we  must  write  up  our  journal  and 
then  retire  to  sleep,  if  the  music  of  the  wedding-guests  will 
allow  us  to  do  so,  for  we  have  a  longish  ride  before  us 
to-morrow.  Our  camp  last  night  was  680  feet  below  sea- 
level  ;  to-night  it  is  2749  feet  above  it. 

*  The  Rev.  G.  R.  Lees,  in  his  little  book  “  Jerusalem  and  its  People  ” 
(p.  32),  speaks  of  what  is,  perhaps,  the  same  custom,  but  gives  it  a 
somewhat  different  interpretation :  “  Articles  may  be  carried  about  a 
room,  but  not  conveyed  from  one  house  to  another ;  yet  there  is  a  way 
out  of  this  difficulty :  a  rope  is  attached  to  two  houses,  or  more  if  desir¬ 
able,  and  sometimes  to  every  house  in  a  colony ;  the  whole  may  then 
be  regarded  as  one  dwelling.” 


CHAPTER  XVI 

FROM  SAFED  TO  EL-KHALISAH 

By  half-past  seven  the  next  morning  our  camp  was  struck, 
and  we  were  dropping  down  into  one  of  those  wonderful 
wadis  by  which  Safed  is  surrounded.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
steep  descent  was  a  bit  of  fairly  level  ground  where  men 
were  ploughing,  each  plough  being  followed  by  a  woman 
who  dropped  seeds  into  the  furrow.  We  climbed  the 
opposing  height,  beautiful  with  blue  veronica,  and  found 
ourselves  on  the  ridge  which  immediately  overlooks  the 
Valley  of  the  Jordan.  To  our  right  we  saw  a  part  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  to  our  left  gleamed  the  Lake  of  Huleh,  and 
between  them  flowed  the  winding  river. 

Then  followed  a  steep  descent  to  the  Plain  of  Huleh,  too 
steep  even  for  our  acrobatic  horses,  so  we  made  the  descent 
on  foot,  leading  them  by  the  bridle.  The  Plain  of  Huleh  is 
a  wide  stretch  of  fertile  ground  between  the  mountains  and 
the  lake  of  that  name.  To  the  north  of  the  lake  it  expands 
into  a  great  marsh,  some  five  or  six  miles  in  breadth  and  ten 
miles  from  north  to  south,  marking  the  area  of  what  in  the 
Pluvial  period  had  been  a  sheet  of  water  as  large  as  the 
present  Sea  of  Galilee. 

Our  road  at  present  lay  along  the  western  border  at  some 
distance  from  the  water  and  close  to  the  foot  of  the  moun¬ 
tains.  It  was  a  grassy  stretch  through  which  we  rode,  and 
I  presently  espied  a  little  shepherd-lad,  one  of  the  negroid 
Bedawin,  minding  his  flock.  As  I  had  been  looking  out  for 
opportunities  to  photograph  this  particular  type,  I  immedi¬ 
ately  dismounted  ;  but  at  sight  of  my  camera  the  little  fellow 
was  off  like  a  shot,  to  the  great  amusement  of  our  Arab 
groom,  who  burst  into  loud  laughter  and  accelerated  the 
flight  of  the  terror-stricken  boy  by  shouts  of  “  Hurra  1 
hurra  !  " 

A  couple  of  hours'  riding  brought  us  to  the  north-west 
corner  of  the  lake,  where  a  beautiful  stream  of  considerable 


88 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


breadth,  known  as  Ain  el-Mellaha,  turns  a  mill  before  it  loses 
itself  in  the  waters  of  the  mere.  The  long  ride  with  the 
scorching  sun  at  our  backs  had  been  very  exhausting,  and 
we  were  nothing  loth  to  strip  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees  and 
bathe  ourselves  in  these  crystal  waters. 

Lake  Huleh  is  marked  in  many  maps  as  “The  Waters  of 
Merom,,,  and  if  that  identification  is  correct,  the  plain 
which  we  have  just  been  traversing  must  have  been  the 
scene  of  Joshua's  battle  with  the  kings  of  the  north.  All 
the  best  authorities,  however,  doubt  the  identification,  and 
in  an  atmosphere  of  doubt  one  cannot  get  up  any  historical 
enthusiasm.  So  we  mounted  our  horses  again  and  rode 
prosaically  northward,  with  a  promise  of  luncheon  before 
us.  This  we  found  spread  in  another  beautiful  spot  some 
five  miles  north  of  the  “  Waters,"  where  a  spring  called 
Ain  Belata  runs  through  a  grove  of  oaks  and  loses  itself  in 
the  marshes  beyond. 

The  heat  had  seemed  to  us  intolerable  while  riding,  but  I 
found  that  it  was  not  really  so  great  as  we  had  supposed. 
Here,  in  the  shade  of  the  trees,  the  thermometer  showed 
only  8o|°.  Indeed,  it  was  pleasant  enough  to  lie  here  and 
watch  the  grand  curves  of  a  magnificent  griffon  who  was 
wheeling  round  and  round  above  the  plain — such  an  eagle 
as  the  prophet  Ezekiel  describes  (xvii.  3)  “  a  great  eagle, 
with  great  wings,  long-winged,  full  of  feathers,  which  had 
divers  colours."  *  We  were  interested,  too,  in  a  family  of 
Bedawin  (Fig.  15),  who  came  to  help  us  (in  more  senses  than 
one)  with  our  luncheon.  The  father  was  very  ready  to  give 
a  little  assistance,  and  for  that  purpose  tied  the  ends  of  his 
long  white  sleeves  together,  and  threw  the  knotted  loop  thus 
made  over  his  head,  in  this  way  drawing  the  sleeves  up  and 
leaving  his  arms  bare.  This  arrangement  is  used  when  any 
manual  work  is  performed,  and  also  as  a  necessary  pre¬ 
liminary  to  a  fray  ;  which  latter  usage  explains  the  prophetic 

*  Canon  Tristram  writes  (“Nat.  Hist.  Bib.,”  p.  172):  “There  can 
be  no  doubt  of  the  identity  of  the  Hebrew  nesher  with  the  Arabic 
nissr,  the  name  invariably  applied,  not  to  any  eagle,  strictly  so  called, 
but  to  the  Griffon  ( Gyps  fulvus )  of  naturalists,  commonly  known  as  the 
Griffon  Vulture,  or  Great  Vulture.  It  is  unfortunate  that  in  our 
language  we  have  but  one  word,  ‘  vulture,’  applied  alike  to  the  noble 
Griffon  and  to  the  very  useful,  but  very  despicable  scavenger, 
‘  Pharaoh’s  Hen,’  as  Europeans  in  the  East  call  the  Egyptian  vulture. 
Though  the  Griffon  be  a  carrion-feeder,  it  is  neither  more  nor  less  so 
than  all  eagles,  none  of  which  will  kill  their  prey  if  they  can  find  it  ready 
slain  to  their  hand,” 


FIG.  15 — BKDAWIN  OF  AIN  BELATA 


FIG.  16. — BRIDGE  OF  EL-GII AJAR 


FROM  SAFED  TO  EL-KHALISAH  89 

metaphor  (Isa.  lii.  10),  “The  Lord  hath  made  bare  His  holy 
arm  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  nations." 

Our  Arab  had  with  him  two  beautiful  boys  (one  of  them 
in  particular  had  a  very  intelligent  and  attractive  face),  and 
presently  the  group  was  joined  by  some  young  girls  of  the 
family,  carrying  feathery  reeds  of  papyrus.  It  was  very 
charming  to  watch  these  lithe  and  graceful  children  at  play. 
They  would  poise  their  reeds  pretending  they  were  spears 
which  they  were  about  to  hurl  at  us,  laughing  and  showing 
their  gleaming  teeth  as  they  did  so.  Then  one  climbed  a 
tree  and  threw  down  clusters  of  berries  which  they  divided 
and  ate.  One  of  the  boys  had  a  pipe  cut  from  a  jointed 
reed,  upon  which  he  played  a  monotonous  tune  for  our 
edification.  I  bought  it  from  him  for  a  penny,  but  have 
never  yet  found  any  European  who  could  play  it.  It  had 
no  mouthpiece,  but  was  lipped  at  the  end  as  one  would 
whistle  with  a  key,  and  it  had  only  five  holes.  I  noticed 
that  the  lad  never  ended  on  what  we  should  regard  as  the 
key-note,  but  always  a  tone  above  it.  The  “  tune  "  consisted 
merely  of  an  endless  repetition  of  this  phrase  : 


D.C. 


— 

J  m 

7B - & - 

n 

¥ 

PI  ' 

•1.1 

- 1 - 

n 

1 

• 

j 

Sb: 

/  • 

: 

The  boys  as  well  as  the  father  were  armed  with  old- 
fashioned  guns,  very  long  in  the  barrel,  but  fired  with  a  cap, 
not  with  a  flint.  In  face  these  Bedawin  had  nothing  of  the 
negro,  and  could  not  have  belonged  to  the  Ghawarineh,  but 
neither  did  they  apparently  belong  to  any  of  the  great  desert 
tribes.  I  asked  them  to  what  tribe  they  belonged,  and  they 
said  they  were  simply  called  “  The  Tribe  of  Ain  Belatah." 

After  lunch  we  started  up  the  valley  again  and  passed 
large  Bedawin  camps.  These  were  partly  composed  of  the 
ordinary  black  Bedawin  tents,  but  there  were  also  long  rows 
of  somewhat  more  substantial  looking  tents,  or  rather,  huts, 
made  of  mats  woven  from  the  stems  of  papyrus.  Sometimes 
a  combination  of  the  two  styles  was  adopted,  the  walls  being 
of  papyrus  mats  and  the  roof  of  black  drapery  thrown  over 
the  walls  and  supported  by  upright  poles.  Papyrus  mats 
are  an  article  of  trade  with  these  Bedawin,  and  we  saw 
women  toiling  up  from  the  marshes  with  huge  bundles  of 
the  reeds  upon  their  heads,  which  they  would  presently 
weave  into  mats  and  send  away  into  the  towns  for  sale. 


90 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


The  papyrus  is  called  “Babir”  by  the  Arabs,  which  is 
almost  identical  with  the  Latin  word.  It  is,  of  course,  the 
same  plant  as  that  which  of  old  time  was  used  in  Egypt  for 
the  manufacture  of  “  paper.”  At  the  present  time  it  is  said 
to  be  extinct  in  the  Nile,  neither  in  Asia  is  it  to  be  found 
except  in  this  district  of  the  Upper  Jordan.  Mr.  J.  Macgregor 
in  his  volume  “Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  gives  an  interest¬ 
ing  account  of  his  attempt  to  penetrate  the  jungle  of  papyrus 
which  forms  an  impassable  barrier  at  the  northern  end  of 
Lake  Huleh.  Its  mode  of  growth  is  remarkable.  The  old 
stems  of  dead  plants  float  upon  the  water,  and  an  accumula¬ 
tion  of  them  forms  what  is  practically  a  floating  shore. 
From  this  vegetable  mass  there  spring  the  living  plants, 
which  rear  their  heads  to  a  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet  and 
send  their  roots  downwards  through  the  clear  water  into  the 
mud  at  the  bottom.  “  Can  the  papyrus  grow  up  without 
mire  ?  ”  asks  Bildad  the  Shuhite  (Job  viii.  1 1).  Mr.  Macgregor 
succeeded  in  finding  a  channel  through  the  great  floating 
forest,  and  proved  that  it  extends  northward  from  the  defined 
shore  of  the  lake  to  a  distance  of  at  least  three  miles.  The 
plant  is  also  found  to  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  more  south 
of  the  lake,  and  then  does  not  reappear  till  we  reach  Ain 
et-Tin  on  the  border  of  Gennesaret.  The  reedy  mass  to  the 
north  of  Huleh  is  inhabited  by  wild  boars,  pelicans,  and 
innumerable  water-fowl. 

Round  about  these  papyrus  huts  a  busy  domestic  life 
seemed  to  be  going  forward.  Near  one  of  them  a  woman 
was  winnowing  by  pouring  grain  upon  the  ground  from  a 
vessel  held  above  her  head,  the  breeze  carrying  the  chaff  to 
one  side.  At  the  door  of  another,  two  women  were  grinding 
at  the  mill  ;  at  another,  a  woman  was  baking  flat  cakes  on  a 
tin  over  a  fire  ;  and  at  yet  another,  two  women  were  beating 
rice  with  mallets  for  the  purpose  of  removing  the  husk. 
This,  by  the  way,  is  said  to  be  the  only  place  in  Palestine 
where  the  rice-plant  grows.  It  is  described  as  singular  in 
its  colour  and  flavour  ;  reddish  in  appearance,  and  swelling 
in  cooking  to  an  unusual  degree.*  The  women  seemed 
also  to  have  the  care  of  the  poultry,  which  we  saw  feeding 
in  goodly  numbers  where  the  threshing  and  winnowing  was 
going  on  ;  and  of  course  they  looked  after  the  children. 
One  woman  stood  at  her  door  and  pulled  a  string  with 
regular  motion,  as  though  she  were  rocking  some  primitive 

*  Schwartz,  quoted  by  J.  Macgregor,  “Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,” 
p.  282  fn. 


FROM  SAFED  TO  EL-KHALISAH 


91 

cradle,  and  an  eye  was  kept  upon  the  infants  of  larger 
growth  who  swarmed  round  the  tents. 

Many  of  the  children  were  stark  naked,  and  we  could 
not  but  notice  their  enormous  stomachs,  which  seemed  to 
hang  down  with  fatness.  Sir  Richard  Burton  mentions  the 
same  characteristic  in  the  Egyptian  children.  “  Travellers/' 
he  writes,*  “always  remark  the  curious  pot-bellied  children 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  This  conformation  is  admired 
by  the  Egyptians,  who  consider  it  a  sign  of  strength  and  a 
promise  of  growth."  The  same  opinion,  I  was  informed, 
obtains  among  the  Bedawin  of  Palestine. 

The  plain,  which  stretched  away  on  our  right  without  the 
slightest  undulation  to  the  foot  of  the  distant  mountains, 
was  dotted  with  horses  and  black  cattle,  with  here  and  there 
a  herd  of  buffaloes.  Horse  and  cattle-breeding  seems, 
indeed,  to  be  the  principal  work  of  these  tent-folk.  Of 
course  the  herds  supply  them  with  abundant  dairy-produce 
for  their  family  needs.  Near  one  camp  we  noticed  a  calf 
standing  motionless  in  a  peculiarly  stiff  attitude,  and  when 
we  rode  up  to  it  found  that  it  was,  in  fact,  the  skin  of  the 
animal  stuffed  with  straw.  Upon  inquiry,  we  learnt  that 
the  calf  had  died,  and  that  the  Arabs,  according  to  custom, 
had  stuffed  the  skin  and  placed  it  erect  that  the  mother 
might  not  cease  to  give  her  milk. 

The  Bedawin  whom  we  were  now  leaving  behind  us 
seem  to  be  all  Ghawarineh — negroid  Arabs,  with  woolly 
heads  and  thick  lips — a  low  type  compared  with  the  pure- 
blooded  Arabs  of  the  desert ;  but  they  seemed  to  live  in 
more  comfort  than  any  others  whom  we  saw.  Nature, 
indeed,  has  been  kind  to  them.  She  supplies  them  with 
papyrus  for  fuel  and  for  shelter,  and  with  fowl  and  fish  to 
shoot  and  spear  ;  and  these  things,  with  their  cattle-breeding 
and  mat-weaving,  add  to  that  liberty  which  is  the  ideal  of 
every  Arab  heart,  a  plenty  which  they  do  not  all  enjoy.  I 
suspect,  however,  that  one  enemy  which  they  often  have  to 
fight  is  that  of  fever,  for  the  native  is  no  more  proof  against 
fever  than  the  European,  and  the  marshes  of  Huleh  must 
be  a  very  hotbed  of  malaria. 

As  we  rode  along  the  plain  the  chorus  of  frogs  was  such 
as  I  had  never  before  heard  or  conceived.  Miles  of  marsh¬ 
land  breed  myriads  of  these  creatures,  and  the  air  seemed 
to  be  filled  with  the  shrill,  stridulous  confusion  of  their 
voices.  Having  heard  their  deafening  music,  I  can  believe 

*  “  Pilgrimage  to  Al-Madinah,”  p.  406  fn. 


I 


92 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


what  Canon  Tristram  says  of  them,  that  u  in  some  of  the 
lakes  and  pools  of  the  Holy  Land  the  frogs  are  so  amazingly 
numerous  that  they  cover  the  surface  towards  evening  in 
one  solid,  unbroken  mass." 

That  phenomenon  we  did  not  wait  to  see,  but  left  the 
marsh-land  behind  us,  and  pushed  forward  towards  the 
roots  of  Hermon.  In  the  course  of  our  ride  we  passed 
many  sacred  bushes  hung  with  rags,  such  as  I  have  already 
alluded  to  in  describing  the  mukam  above  Nazareth.  Here, 
too,  we  heard  for  the  first  time  that  which  will  always  mark 
this  ride  in  my  memory,  the  Syrian  double-pipe,  played  with 
its  right  effect.  Out  in  the  wild  country  it  is  merry  and 
inspiriting  to  a  degree,  reminding  one  forcibly  of  the 
Highland  bagpipes  when  they  are  heard  in  their  native 
mountains.  Our  camp  to-night  was  in  a  grove  of  silver 
poplars  at  a  place  called  el-Khalisah,  on  a  slight  rise  at  the 
head  of  the  Plain  of  Huleh. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


FROM  EL-KHALISAH,  BY  THE  SPRINGS  OF  JORDAN, 

TO  MEJDEL  ESH-SHEMS 

El-KhAlisah  is  hardly  to  be  called  a  village  ;  rather  is  it  a 
Bedawi  camping-place  ;  but  it  has  enclosures  of  poplars  and 
a  good  deal  of  cultivated  ground.  It  is  situated  on  one  of 
those  westerly  streams  which  form  some  of  the  head-waters 
of  the  Jordan,  but  are  scarcely  reckoned  along  with  the  three 
principal  sources  which  we  shall  have  presently  to  mention. 
The  sound  of  running  water  seems  to  fill  the  air  with  music, 
and  the  mountains  crowned  by  ruined  castles  lend  to  the 
place  an  additional  feeling  of  romance. 

On  the  left  of  our  camp  as  we  face  in  the  direction  of  our 
journey  is  the  old  crusaders'  castle  at  Hunin,  and  before  us 
is  the  fortress  of  Subebeh,  crowning  the  mountain  which 
overhangs  Caesarea  Philippi.  The  castle  of  Hunin  is  noble 
and  nobly  situated,  but  has  nothing  oriental  in  appearance. 
Its  massive  round  towers  seem  to  take  us  back  to  feudal 
Europe.  One  portion  of  it,  however,  is  said  to  be  extremely 
ancient,  being  built  of  large  bevelled  stones,  such  as  perhaps 
belong  to  Old  Testament  times.  Thomson  identifies  the 
place  with  Beth-Maachah,  in  which  case  the  village  of  Abil- 
el-Kamh,  which  lies  below  it,  would  be  the  Abel  of  Beth- 
Maachah  mentioned  in  the  story  of  Joab  (2  Sam.  xx.  14, 15). 
As  to  Kafiat-es-Subebeh,  the  great  castle  above  Baniyas, 
it  is  a  mediaeval  building  erected  by  the  Franks,  though 
it  may  well  be  that  an  older  fortress  preceded  it ;  for 
the  position  is  one  of  immense  strength  and  importance, 
and  has  often  proved  to  be  the  key  of  Palestine  upon  the 
north. 

We  made  an  early  start  from  el-Khalisah,  skirting  a  spur  of 
the  mountain  by  a  long  detour,  and  finally  striking  north¬ 
eastward  by  an  ever-ascending  road.  More  Bedawin  camps 
were  passed,  mostly  of  reed-built  huts,  also  large  herds  of 


94 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


buffalo  and  flocks  of  brown  sheep  and  long-haired  goats. 
Then  up  and  up  towards  the  heights  of  Hermon  by  a 
villainous  path  among  scattered  boulders.  Turning  sharply 
to  the  east  we  crossed  the  Hasbani  by  the  well-known 
Bridge  of  el-Ghajar.  This  river  forms  the  most  westerly  of 
the  three  main  head- waters  of  the  Jordan,  the  chief  sources 
being — that  at  Hasbeya,  from  which  this  Hasbani  river 
flows,  ten  miles  north  of  the  spot  where  we  are  standing ; 
that  at  Tell-el-Kadi,  known  as  the  Leddan,  a  mile  or  two 
eastward  of  this  spot ;  and  the  third  at  Baniyas  (the  ancient 
Caesarea  Philippi)  which  lies  yet  further  east.  The  first  of 
these  may  be  regarded  as  the  source,  if  the  rule  is  followed 
which  accords  that  honour  to  the  stream  rising  furthest 
from  the  mouth  ;  the  second,  if  the  question  is  which  throws 
up  most  water  ;  and  the  third,  if  the  principal  source  is  that 
which  is  best  known  to  history. 

The  Nahr  Hasbani,  over  which  we  are  now  crossing, 
must  geologically  be  a  remarkable  stream  if  that  which 
Thomson  says  of  it  be  true,  that  “  during  the  countless  ages 
of  the  past  it  has  cut  a  tortuous  canal  through  the  hard 
lava  at  least  two  hundred  feet  deep  ”  !  But,  whether  the 
deep  fissure  through  which  it  flows  was  rent  by  some  volcanic 
convulsion  (for  we  are  now  in  the  region  of  volcanoes)  or 
whether  it  is  indeed  due  entirely  to  the  action  of  the  stream, 
it  is  impressive  enough  from  the  scenic  point  of  view ;  for 
above  it  tower  on  the  one  hand  the  mountain  ranges  of 
Upper  Galilee,  and  on  the  other  hand  the  gigantic  flanks  of 
Hermon,  while,  far  below  in  a  wild  and  gloomy  gorge, 
whose  sides  are  rough  with  thicket  of  sycamore  and  oleander, 
there  rushes  a  broad  torrent  of  dark  blue  water  as  it  plunges 
down  to  the  abyss. 

A  couple  of  miles,  or  a  little  more,  from  the  Bridge  of 
el-Ghajar  in  a  south-easterly  direction,  we  reached  the 
second  source,  Nahr  Leddan,  as  it  is  called,  which  is  one  of 
the  most  wonderful  sights,  I  should  imagine,  that  a  man 
may  see.  At  the  base  of  a  thickly-wooded  mound,  and 
seeming  to  rise  from  the  roots  of  the  mound  itself,  there 
boils  up  as  if  in  some  titanic  cauldron  an  enormousi  body 
of  water.  It  is  said  to  be  the  largest  volume  in  the  world 
rising  from  a  single  source,*  and  one  of  the  largest  it  must 
undoubtedly  be.  Robinson  estimates  that  it  is  two  or  three 
times  the  size  of  the  source  at  Baniyas,  and  four  or  six 
times  the  size  of  the  Hasbani  spring,  but  this  I  should  have 

*  Tristram,  “  The  Land  of  Israel,”  p.  572. 


FIG.  17. — THE  INFANT  JORDAN 


FIG.  18. —  NEAR  C.ESAKEA  PHILIPPI 


JORDAN,  TO  MEJDEL  ESH-SHEMS  95 

thought  much  understates  its  magnitude.  It  is  in  fact  a 
river  born  full-grown.  There  is  no  gathering  of  rills, 
no  gradual  growth  from  tributary  streams,  but  with 
one  silent  upward  heave  the  whole  river  bursts  from  the 
womb  of  earth  and  swirls  away  to  the  south,  a  majestic  flood 
from  the  moment  that  it  sees  the  light.  No  wonder  that 
Eusebius  and  Jerome  and  many  other  ancient  writers 
regarded  this  as  the  real  beginning  of  the  Jordan  !  * 

The  mound  from  beneath  or  beside  which  the  river  rises 
is  about  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  height  and  one  hundred  feet  in 
length,  and  is  of  great  interest  as  being  the  probable  site  of 
the  ancient  city  of  Dan  and  the  still  more  ancient  Laish. 
The  site  is  not,  indeed,  undisputed,  the  question  lying 
between  this  and  Baniyas,  which  is  about  three  miles  to  the 
east  as  the  crow  flies.  In  favour  of  Tell  el-Kadi,  the  mound 
which  now  faces  us,  is  its  name  “  The  Mound  of  the  Judge," 
for  Dan  means  “  judge  "  in  Hebrew  as  Kadi  does  in  Arabic  ; 
and  the  name  of  the  stream  itself,  the  Leddan,  may  also,  as 
Canon  Cheyne  suggests,  contain  an  echo  of  the  name  of 
the  old  city.  Josephus,  Eusebius,  and  Jerome  all  identify 
this  spot  with  Dan  or  Laish,  and  the  ruins  upon  the  sides  of 
the  tell  and  within  the  basin  which  dips  into  its  summit, 
are  evidence  that  at  some  period  a  city  did  actually  occupy 
this  site. 

Against  this,  only  a  single  argument  is  urged,  but  it  is 
supported  by  so  high  an  authority  as  Professor  G.  A.  Smith. 
It  is  that  Baniyas  was  “  a  better  site  than  Tell  el-Kadi  for 
the  capital  of  a  district,"  inasmuch  as  its  position  was, 
from  a  military  point  of  view,  much  stronger.  That  might 
be  of  weight  if  the  two  sites  were  equally  bare  of  all  tradi¬ 
tion,  and  if  we  knew  that  the  ancients  always  thought  only 
of  military  strength  in  founding  a  city  ;  but,  as  Canon 
Cheyne  remarks,  “From  Judges  xviii  we  do  not  gather 
that  Laish  was  a  place  of  exceptional  national  strength  ;  its 
inhabitants  were  a  peaceful  folk,  who  trusted  not  in  their 
fortress  but  in  their  remoteness  from  troublesome  people 
like  the  Danites." 

This  is  strikingly  true,  and  after  seeing  the  two  places  I 
must  say  that  it  seems  easier  by  far  to  locate  here,  at  this 
rich  tell  rising  amidst  the  fat  fields  of  the  Leddan,  that  old 
story  of  the  five  men  of  the  children  of  Dan  who  went  up  to 
spy  out  a  place  which  they  might  capture  for  a  settlement, 

*  Josephus,  however,  calls  this  the  Lower  Jordan,  and  regards  the 
source  at  Baniyas  as  the  head-fountain  of  the  sacred  stream. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


96 

than  it  is  to  reconcile  it  with  the  wild  broken  country  and 
the  rocky  fastnesses  of  Baniyas  :  “  Then  the  five  men 
departed,  and  came  to  Laish,  and  saw  the  people  that  were 
therein,  how  they  dwelt  in  security,  after  the  manner  of  the 
Zidonians,  quiet  and  secure  ;  .  .  .  and  they  came  unto  their 
brethren  .  .  .  and  they  said,  Arise,  and  let  us  go  up  against 
them  ;  for  we  have  seen  the  land,  and,  behold,  it  is  very 
good  :  and  are  ye  still  ?  Be  not  slothful  to  go  and  to  enter 
in  to  possess  the  land.  When  ye  go,  ye  shall  come  unto  a 
people  secure,  and  the  land  is  large  :  for  God  hath  given  it 
into  your  hand  ;  a  place  where  there  is  no  want  of  anything 
that  is  in  the  earth.” 

Dean  Stanley  speaks  of  the  hill  itself  as  “  apparently  an 
extinct  crater,”  but  ].  Macgregor,  who  seems  to  have  made 
a  careful  study  of  the  place,*  regards  it  as  “  wholly  arti¬ 
ficial.”  The  truth,  probably  is  that  a  small  crater  did  exist 
here,  for  we  are  in  a  volcanic  region  where  similar  craters 
are  not  wanting,  and  that  it  was  artificially  adapted  for 
habitation.  The  plan  of  the  mound  which  Macgregor  gives 
would  favour  this  view. 

The  south-west  corner  of  the  mound  is  much  higher  than 
the  rest  (Canon  Tristram  says  eighty  feet  high),  and  here, 
according  to  tradition,  the  golden  calf,  the  fellow  of  that  at 
Bethel,  was  set  up  by  Jeroboam.  It  was  a  sacred  spot  long 
before  his  day,  however ;  for  here,  doubtless,  the  children  of 
Dan  set  up  their  graven  image  at  the  founding  of  their  city 
(Judges  xviii.  30),  and  earlier  still,  in  prehistoric  times,  it  may 
well  have  been  one  of  the  many  river-sources  which 
gathered  tales  of  mystery  around  them.  Such  traditions 
live  on  and  change  their  form  and  take  long  in  dying. 
Even  to  this  hour  this  is  a  venerated  site,  for  the  oak  and 
the  terebinth  which  stand  near  that  same  corner  of  the  tell 
are  hung,  as  we  witnessed,  with  countless  rags,  the  offerings 
of  Moslem  devotees. 

Leaving  Tell  el-Kadi  behind  us  we  continued  our  ride 
eastward  up  a  long  grassy  slope  bejewelled  with  bright 
blossoms,  and  especially  beautiful  with  great  bushes  of 
hawthorn  and  of  some  white-blossomed  pale-leaved  shrub, 
which  waved  in  the  breeze  and  scattered  its  delicious 
fragrance  on  every  side.  This  latter  I  at  first  took  to  be 
some  kind  of  syringa,  for  its  scent  was  very  similar  ;  but  I 
learnt  afterwards  that  it  was  the  storax  ( styrax  officinalis ),  a 
tree  well  known  to  the  ancient  Greeks,  who  extracted  from 

*  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  2nd  ed.,  pp.  214-8. 


JORDAN,  TO  MEJDEL  ESH-SHEMS  97 

it  a  sweet-smelling  gum  used  for  incense.  It  is  the  perfume 
of  which  Herrick  sings  : 

“  This,  that,  and  ev’ry  thicket  doth  transpire 
More  sweet  than  Storax  from  the  hallowed  fire.” 

I  wonder  whether  these  waving  bushes  which  adorn  our 
journey  are  descendants  of  those  which  yielded  incense  for 
the  worship  of  Pan,  whose  cavern  still  yawns  in  yonder 
cliff  ! 

We  were  now  in  that  district  into  which  Jesus  retired 
with  His  disciples  at  the  great  turning-point  of  His  life 
when  He  went  with  them  “  into  the  villages  of  Caesarea 
Philippi/' and  put  to  them  the  momentous  question,  “Who 
say  ye  that  I  am  ?  "  And  a  fit  setting  this  is  for  the  ever 
memorable  event — wild,  beautiful,  tumultuous  scenery,  in 
harmony  with  the  tragic  grandeur  of  the  crisis.  A  broad 
green  road  passing  through  groves  of  oak  and  olive  leads  up 
to  a  climax  of  rocky  gorges,  cliffs  of  ruddy  limestone,  torn 
rocks  of  gloomy  basalt,  dashing  torrents  and  foaming 
cataracts  festooned  with  briar  and  bramble  and  masses  of 
drooping  maidenhair. 

We  crossed  the  foaming  current  of  the  infant  Jordan — 
the  third  of  its  headwaters — by  a  bridge  of  Roman  masonry, 
and  then  in  the  midst  of  this  tangled  wilderness  we  sat  and 
rested,  almost  overpowered  by  its  melancholy  beauty.  On 
every  hand  were  titanic  walls,  rent  into  massive  blocks  of 
masonry,  which  hung  in  threatening  fashion  over  dark 
abysses.  Here  and  there  the  shallow,  brawling  streams 
which  coursed  in  the  deep  wadis  found  their  passage  barred 
by  marble  pillars  and  carved  stones  which  lay  athwart  the 
bed.  A  lofty  bridge  across  one  of  these  wadis  led  to  the 
gloomy  ruins  of  an  ancient  fortress.  Chasms  yawned 
beneath  us,  mountains  raised  their  heads  above  us,  and  in 
the  midst  of  all,  those  tuneful  birds,  which  we  had  missed 
so  sorely  in  this  silent  land,  raised  their  sweet  voices  all 
heedless  of  the  human  tragedies,  the  struggles  for  empire, 
the  birth  and  death  of  faiths,  of  which  in  times  long  past  this 
place  had  been  the  fitting  scene. 

We  did  not  explore  the  ruins  of  Caesarea  Philippi,  or 
inspect  the  modern  village  of  Baniyas.  Having  made  up 
our  minds  that,  come  what  might,  we  would  spend  at  least 
one  clear  day  here  on  our  return  journey,  we  contented 
ourselves  with  a  moderate  rest  on  the  present  occasion.  As 
we  sat  at  our  midday  meal  an  eagle  swept  in  a  swift  curve 

G 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


98 

so  near  to  us  that  I  could  see  his  hooked  beak,  the  turn  of 
his  neck,  and  the  glitter  of  his  cruel  eye.  We  saw,  indeed, 
in  the  course  of  this  day’s  ride  a  large  number  of  eagles  and 
vultures,  more  than  in  any  other  part  of  our  journey.  The 
cliffs  and  crags  of  these  mountain-spurs  which  run  up  into 
the  Hermon  range  are  a  home  well  suited  for  all  such  birds 
of  prey. 

From  Baniyas  we  continued  our  ascent,  which  now 
became  considerably  steeper.  Our  journey  was  along  the 
mountain  side  with  the  castle  of  Subebeh  on  our  left.  For 
two  hours  we  travelled  along  a  bad  path  among  blocks  of 
black  basalt,  then  descended  into  a  valley  where  there  was 
some  cultivation  and  where  a  mill-stream  ran  through  a 
plantation  of  poplars,  and  finally  after  another  half-hour’s 
climb  saw  our  camp  below  us  in  a  green  dip  of  the  mountain 
just  under  the  village  of  Mejdel  esh-Shems.  We  were  now 
well  up  on  the  main  Hermon  range,  with  the  highest  point 
of  it  looking  down  upon  us.  It  is  generally  a  mass  of 
gleaming  white,  but  this  year  the  spring  being  unusually 
warm,  the  snow  had  been  reduced  to  a  few  patches  near  the 
top. 

Mejdel  esh-Shems  means  Mejdel  of  Damascus,  Esh-Sham 
being  the  native  name  for  the  city  as  well  as  for  Syria  in 
general  (including  Palestine).  It  is  doubtless  so  called  to 
distinguish  it  from  Mejdel  near  Ascalon  and  from  that  other 
Mejdel  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret  which  we  had  already 
visited.  The  particular  Mejdel  where  we  were  now  encamped 
is  a  Druse  village.  It  is  inhabited,  that  is  to  say,  by  people 
of  the  brave  and  handsome  mountain  race  who  are  the 
great  enemies  of  the  Maronite  Christians  in  this  region. 
What  the  Druse  religion  itself  is,  over  and  above  being 
violently  anti-Christian,  or  at  any  rate  anti-Maronite,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say  with  any  particularity.  They 
believe  in  an  ineffable,  unapproachable  God,  who  incarnates 
Himself  from  time  to  time,  the  latest  incarnation  being  the 
Khalif  Hakim  Biamrillah,  who  lived  at  the  beginning  of 
the  eleventh  century.  They  are  therefore  allied  religiously 
to  the  Shi’ite  or  heterodox  Mohammedans  of  Persia. 

As  to  race,  they  are  Syro-Arab,  with  a  great  preponderance 
of  the  Syrian  element.  To  the  beauty  of  their  faces  I  can 
myself  bear  witness,  for  one  of  the  loveliest  boys  I  ever  saw 
hung  about  our  camp  on  the  evening  of  which  I  am  writing, 
hand  in  hand  with  his  sad-eyed  and  beautiful  mother,  who 
was  offering  lace  for  sale.  The  whole  place  swarms  with 


99 


JORDAN,  TO  MEJDEL  ESH-SHEMS 

children,  and  many  of  them  are  so  pretty  that  the  traveller 
is  at  first  greatly  attracted  by  them.  Perhaps  that  is  one 
reason  why  they  are  so  fearless  and  so  intrusive.  However, 
the  tourist  soon  wearies  of  their  incessant  cry  for  bakhshish, 
and  the  camp-attendants  have  to  take  the  matter  in  hand  to 
prevent  him  from  being  hopelessly  mobbed. 

The  village  is  built  on  a  steep  terraced  slope,  just  above 
the  grassy  hollow  in  which  our  camp  is  pitched.  The 
houses  have  flat  roofs  and  arched  doorways  and  are  mostly 
windowless.  In  spite  of  our  sheltered  position  the  place 
strikes  bitterly  cold  after  the  sweltering  heat  of  Huleh,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  believe  the  thermometer  when  at  7.30  P.M.  it 
shows  as  much  as  550  ;  it  feels  more  like  350  ! 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

ON  MOUNT  HERMON 

Our  camp  at  Mejdel  esh-Shems  was  about  3780  feet  above 
the  sea,  the  wind  in  the  night  was  violent,  and  the  flapping 
canvas  like  the  noise  of  guns.  I  rose  feeling  very  unwell,  a 
severe  chill  being  added  to  other  ailments  of  long  standing. 
The  ride  northward  from  Mejdel  was  consequently  a  long- 
drawn  wretchedness;  my  remembrance  of  it,  chiefly  a  night¬ 
mare  of  many  miles  of  black  and  barren  country  strewn  with 
huge  masses  of  cinder-like  rock,  full  of  holes,  like  gigantic 
bits  of  black  pumice-stone,  dismally  suggesting  a  projection 
of  my  own  inward  state. 

Yet  certain  gleams  of  heavenly  loveliness  broke  through 
this  nightmare  at  times  and  touched  the  soul  to  momentary 
forgetfulness  of  its  suffering  body.  At  the  very  start  there 
was  such  a  moment,  when  there  floated  in  the  valley  below 
us  a  long  line  of  light  cloud  with  wisps  of  gauzy  mist 
streaming  upward  from  it  and  paling  the  sun  to  a  moonlike 
dreaminess  of  hue.  Then  there  was  the  view  of  the  purple 
mountains  of  the  Hauran,  and  the  moment  when  the  vast 
blue  plain  of  Damascus  broke  upon  us  ;  and  there  was  the 
point  at  which  we  first  touched  the  snow,  and  the  excitement 
of  crossing  the  infant  Pharpar  (if  indeed  the  Nahr  Barbar  is 
so  to  be  identified).  But  for  the  most  part  the  ride  was  for 
one  of  us  sheer  misery,  and  the  happiest  moment  was  when 
after  a  short  day’s  journey  the  sufferer  crept  between  the 
blankets.  Our  camping-place  was  at  Kefr  Hawar,  where  most 
travellers  who  take  this  road  halt  for  the  night. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  March  24.  We  ought  to  have 
been  in  Damascus,  but  the  journey  on  the  previous  day, 
short  as  it  was,  had  finished  me  up.  A  freezing  wind  had 
been  blowing  during  the  greater  part  of  our  ride,  and  the 
morning  found  me  aching  in  every  bone.  So  Mohammed 
the  groom  was  despatched  to  Damascus  to  bring  stores  for 
the  camp  and  medicines  for  the  invalid. 


ON  MOUNT  HERMON 


IOI 


Monday  came,  and  I  thought  I  might  struggle  on,  but 
was  glad  enough  to  know  that  'Hamrnad  had  not  yet  returned, 
and  that  I  might  retain  the  horizontal  position  for  a  few 
hours  longer. 

At  ten  o'clock  Hanna  begins  looking  anxiously  toward 
the  low  rounded  hill  which  rises  to  the  north,  but  no 
'Hamrnad  appears  upon  its  brow.  The  men  begin  to  take 

down  the  tents  that  we  may  start  the  moment  that  our 

stores  arrive  ;  but,  still  no  'Hamrnad.  Up  springs  a  strong 
south-west  wind,  at  which  Hanna  looks  serious.  The 
sheikh  of  the  village,  who  has  been  our  sentinel  for  the 
past  two  nights,  is  set  to  work  to  make  a  fresh  supply  of 

tent-pegs.  He  proceeds  to  do  so  with  a  small  sickle  of 

exceeding  bluntness.  The  cook  joins  him  with  the  kitchen 
chopper,  and  together  they  progress  at  the  rate  of  one  peg 
in  every  five  minutes. 

The  sheikh  is  dressed  in  the  blue  baggy  trousers  used  in 
Syria  and  Northern  Palestine,  a  loose  cotton  coat  striped 
with  yellow  and  black,  and  has  his  head  wrapped  in  a  large 
cotton  hood  fastened  round  the  crown  with  the  “  agal."  A 
girl,  perhaps  his  daughter,  has  just  come  into  the  camp. 
She,  too,  wears  loose  blue  trousers,  confined  at  the  ankle, 
and  over  them  a  blue  skirt  which  reaches  to  the  knee  or  a 
little  lower.  She  has  a  flowing  white  veil  hanging  down  her 
back  and  tied  round  the  crown  of  her  head  with  a  coloured 
cotton  handkerchief.  Now  and  then,  if  she  sees  that  you 
are  looking  at  her,  she  draws  her  veil  over  the  lower  part  of 
her  face.  I  notice  that  her  face  is  tattooed  and  that  she  has 
a  jewel  in  the  side  of  her  nose.  Some  little  boys  of  live  or 
six  years  are  playing  around.  They  wear  little  white  skull¬ 
caps,  which  contrast  well  with  their  black  hair  and  dark 
faces,  and  blue  or  red  striped  gowns  open  in  front  from  the 
neck  to  the  stomach  and  showing  their  little  brown  bodies. 

It  is  nearly  eleven,  and  Hanna  looks  over  the  hills  every 
five  minutes  :  he  is  plainly  getting  uneasy.  The  bridle-road 
to  Damascus  lies  to  the  north-east  of  our  camp.  At  the  foot 
of  the  hill  over  which  it  disappears,  and  a  little  to  the  north 
of  the  road,  lies  the  village  of  Bet-Ima.  To  the  west  rises  the 
head  of  Hermon — “the  white-haired  old  man,"  as  the 
natives  call  it.  To  the  south  and  south-east  stretches  a 
barren,  rocky  hill,  which  we  see  only  partially  through  the 
beautiful  veil  of  silver  poplars  which  is  doing  its  best  to 
screen  us  from  this  boisterous  wind. 

In  the  camping-ground  itself  are  fig-trees  and  large  old 


102 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


vines  which  writhe  and  coil  along  the  ground  like  snakes, 
and  end  by  hanging  themselves  over  the  lower  branches  of 
the  trees.  The  sheikh  has  just  fetched  in  a  great  bough  of 
hawthorn  in  full  flower  to  cut  into  tent-pegs.  One  of  the 
gaunt  hungry-looking  dogs  of  the  village  is  smelling  round 
the  tents  for  bits  of  food. 

Noon,  and  still  no  sign  of  Mohammed.  The  wind  has 
risen  to  a  gale,  and  Hanna  says  we  must  keep  in  the  shelter 
of  this  clump  of  trees  and  not  attempt  to  travel  over  the 
exposed  slope  of  Hermon.  So  the  men  put  up  the  tents 
again  which  they  had  taken  down,  drive  in  the  new  pegs, 
and  fasten  additional  ropes  round  the  tree-trunks. 

Mohammed  returned  from  Damascus  at  oneio'clock,  having 
been  robbed  of  some  of  his  parcels,  including  a  bottle  of  my 
physic,  and  having  also  had  his  pocket  picked  of  his  purse. 
The  people  of  Damascus  have  a  bad  name  for  thieving. 

The  wind  dropped  at  sunset,  but  at  the  same  time  the 
temperature  fell,  and  clouds  came  rolling  up  over  Hermon 
so  that  we  rather  feared  snow  on  the  morrow.  The  stars 
were  piercingly  bright.  In  the  early  hours  of  the  night 
sudden  gusts  would  come  at  long  intervals,  rising  with  an 
alarming  crescendo,  shaking  the  tent  and  threatening  to 
overthrow  it,  then  ceasing  as  suddenly  as  they  had  begun. 
At  length,  profound  quiet,  save  for  a  distant  chorus  of  dogs 
in  some  far-off  village,  and  we  slept  the  sleep  of  the  just. 

It  was  disappointing,  but  Damascus  had  to  be  given  up. 
The  choice  lay  between  that  and  omitting  some  portion  of 
our  Palestine  plan  ;  and  the  latter  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 
Before  we  turned  in,  therefore,  it  had  been  agreed  that  on 
the  morrow  we  should  retrace  our  steps  and  take  the  down¬ 
ward  road  to  Caesarea. 

And  now,  before  we  turn  southward,  let  me  say  a  word 
about  the  northern  dress  which  I  have  just  described.  I 
have  often  wondered  whether  the  difference  in  dress  between 
the  north  and  south  of  Palestine  was  as  marked  in  the  days 
of  Jesus  as  it  is  now.  I  can  hardly  imagine  the  scene 
between  Peter  and  the  servants  at  the  High  Priest’s  palace 
taking  place  if  the  Galilean  dress  had  been  the  same  as  it  is 
to-day.  To-day  the  peasant  of  Galilee  assimilates  his  dress 
to  that  of  Syria  proper  ;  if  he  wears  the  kaftan  at  all  he  wears 
it  short  enough  to  show  the  trousers  beneath  it.  In  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem  the  northerner  is  known  at  once  by  his 
attire,  and  no  such  debate  as  that  recorded  in  the  Gospel  of 
St.  Matthew,  ending  with  the  decisive  criterion  of  dialect, 


ON  MOUNT  HERMON 


103 


would  need  to  take  place.  It  is  true  that  to-day  as  then  the 
Galilean’s  “  speech  bewrayeth  him/’  but  one  would  not  now 
depend  exclusively  on  that,  for  his  costume “  bewrays"  him 
from  the  first. 

The  difference  between  the  north  and  south  extends  also 
to  the  custom  of  tattooing.*  Here  again  we  have  what  is 
strictly  speaking  a  Syrian  custom.  The  workers  in  tattoo 
are  generally  Syrian,  and  the  decoration  is  seen  mainly  in 
Syria  and  Northern  Palestine  ;  it  is  scarcely  ever  seen  in 
Judaea,  at  any  rate  in  the  mountain  districts,  although  it  is 
found  I  believe  in  Philistia. 

The  inference  one  would  be  inclined  to  draw  is  that  in 
the  north  the  ancient  Jewish  customs  have  given  way  be¬ 
fore  foreign  influence,  and  that  Judaea  affords  at  present  a 
nearer  approach  to  Bible  attire  and  decoration  than  Galilee. 
Ancient  Jewish  law  forbad  the  Israelite  to  “  print  any  marks  ” 
upon  himself  (Lev.  xix.  28)  ;  tattooing  was  a  Canaanitish 
custom  which  he  might  not  follow.  It  may  well  be,  there¬ 
fore,  that  as  tattooing  has  invaded  Galilee,  so  the  Syrian 
dress  has  invaded  it,  and  that  neither  the  one  nor  the  other 
was  found  there  to  any  extent  in  New  Testament  times. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  certainty  about  this  inference. 
“  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles"  was  probably  never  very  strict  in 
matters  of  Jewish  law  and  custom.  But  the  Petrine  incident 
referred  to  above  goes  to  bear  out  the  view  that  the  disciples 
of  Jesus  were  dressed  in  the  flowing  kumbaz  and  aba  of 
Judaea,  rather  than  in  the  costume  which  is  worn  by  the 
Galilean  of  to-day.  And  we  would  judge  by  analogy  that 
the  graceful  dress  and  the  freedom  from  tattooing  which 
to-day  characterise  the  women  of  Southern  Palestine 
belonged  in  the  time  of  Jesus  to  the  north  also.  Artists  are 
possibly  right,  therefore,  even  from  an  archaeological  point 
of  view,  in  representing  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  as  they 
generally  do,  in  the  long  robe  and  drooping  veil  of  Judaea. 

*  “The  Immovable  East.”  P.  G.  Baldensperger.  P.E.F.Q.S.  Jan. 
1904. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

BACK  TO  OESAREA  PHILIPPI 

On  Tuesday,  March  26,  we  began  our  southward  journey. 
It  will  not  be  interesting  to  the  reader  to  mark  the  fluctua¬ 
tions  of  the  writer’s  health  :  suffice  it  to  say  once  for  all  that 
from  this  time  to  the  end  of  the  tour  he  was  more  or  less 
ailing,  which  somewhat  crippled  our  enterprise. 

We  started  early,  and  retraced  our  steps  first  through  a 
cultivated  plain  and  then  through  the  black  wilderness  of 
volcanic  stuff  already  mentioned.  We  could  not  but  notice 
the  industry  of  the  fellahin,  who  had  ploughed  up  patches  of 
ground  high  on  the  rocky  sides  of  Hermon  far  above  the 
line  of  the  lowest  snow.  Wherever  some  hollow  on  the 
sunny  side  had  caught  and  kept  a  little  earth,  there  these 
poor  peasants  ploughed  and  sowed  in  the  hope  of  saving 
something  from  the  withering  blast  of  the  mountain  winds 
and  the  cruel  rapacity  of  the  Turkish  tax-gatherer.  The  chief 
feature,  of  course,  in  the  ride  southward  is  the  series  of 
lovely  views  of  the  blue  mountains  of  Palestine.  I  will  not 
attempt  to  describe  this  ride,  nor  to  detail  the  accident 
which  happened  to  our  cook,  whose  horse  came  down  with 
him  and  lamed  him.  Nor  need  I  speak  further  of  the  folk 
of  Mejdel  esh-Shems  who  swarmed  down  upon  us  at  our 
mid-day  rest.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  remark  that  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon  we  found  ourselves  once  more 
looking  down  upon  Baniyas. 

Then  began  a  long  and  precipitous  descent  from  the 
mountains,  and  again  I  noticed  the  extraordinary  number 
of  eagles  and  vultures  which  haunt  the  southern  spurs  of 
Hermon.  They  were  of  several  kinds,  though  the  com¬ 
monest  was  the  black  and  white  vulture  known  in  Egypt  as 
Pharaoh’s  Hen,  which  is  mentioned  in  the  Levitical  law  * 
among  the  unclean  birds. 

*  Translated  “  gier  eagle”  in  the  Authorised  Version,  “vulture  ”  in 
the  Revised  Version. 


FIG.  19. — CAESAREA  PH  I  LI  PI5 1  :  THE  CASTLE  GATE 
FROM  THE  FRIDGE 


FIG.  20.  —  CAESAREA  PHILIPPI  :  THE  CASTLE  GATE 
FROM  WITHIN 


BACK  TO  CAESAREA  PHILIPPI 


I05 

We  had  taken  spiral  wise  the  hill  upon  which  the  castle  of 
Subebeh  stood,  leading  our  horses  by  the  bridle,  and  had 
just  remounted  before  the  last  drop  into  Bandas,  when 
suddenly  our  ears  were  assailed  by  a  burst  of  merry  music. 
From  cliff  to  cliff  it  echoed,  and  seemed  to  set  the  whole 
spirit  of  the  place  a-dancing.  No  soul  was  in  sight,  and  one 
could  almost  fancy  that  Pan  himself,  whose  grotto  lay  just 
below  us,  was  piping  from  his  cave.  Nearer  and  nearer  came 
the  happy  strains,  till  at  length  our  eye  detected  the  musician, 
a  young  Syrian  peasant,  stepping  briskly  along  and  blowing 
away  into  his  twin  pipes  as  though  he  were  sending  his  very 
soul  through  them.  Presently  we  came  up  with  him,  and 
a  pastoral  dialogue  ensued  between  Corydon  and  our  guide, 
Hanna  extending  his  arm  with  a  dignified  not  to  say  com¬ 
manding  air,  the  simple  shepherd  smiling,  shy,  shaking  his 
head,  and  pleading  plaintively.  It  ended  in  the  hills  sinking 
into  silence  while  Hanna  rode  off  with  the  musical  reed. 
Too  late  I  learned  that  it  was  on  my  behalf  that  the  chaffer¬ 
ing  had  taken  place,  that  Corydon  had  sold  his  soul  for 
ninepence,  and  that  he  had  done  so  with  reluctance.  I 
asked  Hanna  what  the  boy  had  said.  “  He  said/’  replied 
Hanna,  “that  he  loved  his  pipe  better  than  he  loved  him¬ 
self  ;  ”  and  in  a  sense  I  believe  the  boy  spoke  truly,  for 
never  otherwise  could  he  have  sent  those  wild  notes 
wandering  among  the  hills  with  such  a  soul  in  them. 

We  camped  within  sight  of  the  Grotto  of  Pan  and  the 
Jordan  source,  our  tents  being  pitched  on  a  grassy  slope 
beneath  some  fine  spreading  trees.  The  slope  broke  off  at 
a  narrow,  rocky  channel,  down  which  the  little  river  tossed 
and  foamed,  making  music  to  us  through  the  hours  of  the 
clear  night. 

The  ruins  of  the  citadel  of  Baniyas,  which  were  the  first 
of  the  relics  we  visited  on  the  following  morning,  are  a 
strange  mixture  of  many  ages.  They  are  approached  by  an 
ancient  bridge  thrown  across  the  wadi,  which  is  said  to  be 
partly  Roman,  but  the  walls  and  piers  of  which  contain 
materials  more  ancient  still.  At  the  further  end  of  the 
bridge  is  a  gateway  superscribed  with  an  Arabic  inscription  ; 
yet  the  adjacent  walls  are  mediaeval,  with  marble  pillars  of 
the  old  Graeco-Roman  time,  showing  their  circular  butt-ends 
among  the  squared  stones  of  the  twelfth-century  masonry 
(Fig.  19). 

Passing  through  this  portal  you  find  yourself  among 
the  houses  of  the  modern  village,  which  are  crowded  to- 


106  TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 

gether  within  the  castle  walls.  They  are  built  from  the 
stones  of  the  ancient  ruins,  their  roofs  being  flat  and  com¬ 
posed  as  usual  of  timbers  and  brushwood  and  hardened 
mud.  Perched  on  the  tops  of  the  houses  are  the  curious 
summer  shelters,  composed  of  leafy  boughs  and  shaped  like 
beehives,  which  are  common  in  the  country.  The  men 
who  loaf  in  the  shadow  of  the  walls  wear  the  shirt  and 
trousers  of  the  northern  peasantry  with  the  Bedawin 
keffiyeh  and  agal  (Figs.  21,  22). 

Back  of  the  village  is  the  red  limestone  cliff,  over  a 
hundred  feet  in  height,*  where  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
(one  of  the  spurs  of  Hermon)  is  torn  away.  This  cliff  is 
pierced  now  as  in  ancient  times  by  a  vast  cave,  no  other 
than  the  celebrated  Grotto  of  Pan,  which  gave  the  place  its 
name  of  Paneas  (Fig.  23).  “  When  Herod  the  Great  had 

conducted  Caesar  to  the  sea,"  writes  Josephus,  “and  was 
returned  home,  he  built  him  a  most  beautiful  temple,  of  the 
whitest  stone  in  Zenodorus's  country,  near  the  place  called 
The  Paneion.  This  is  a  very  fine  cave  in  a  mountain, 
under  which  there  is  a  great  cavity  in  the  earth,  and  the 
cavern  is  abrupt  and  prodigiously  deep,  and  full  of  a  still 
water  ;  over  it  hangs  a  vast  mountain  ;  and  under  the 
caverns  arise  the  springs  of  the  River  Jordan."  The 
threshold  of  the  cave  is  blocked  now  by  a  great  heap  of 
earth  and  stones  which  have  fallen  from  above,  diminishing 
the  size  of  the  opening  and  smothering  the  pool  of  “  still 
water."  The  river,  which,  when  Josephus  wrote,  must  have 
flowed  from  the  cave  itself,  comes  filtering  to-day  through 
this  mound  of  rubbish  (Fig.  24).  The  “temple  of  whitest 
stone"  which  Herod  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Caesar  is 
represented  now  by  a  little  Moslem  shrine  dedicated  to 
the  prophet  Elijah. 

The  term  Paneion,  according  to  Prof.  G.  A.  Smith,!  was 
applied  to  the  whole  group,  hill,  cavern,  and  fountain. 
Paneas,  a  feminine  form  of  the  adjective,  was  applied  to  the 
district  and  town  of  the  Paneion.  Philip  the  Tetrarch 
named  the  city  Caesarea  Philippi,  and  Agrippa  named  it 
Neronias,  but  the  old  name  could  not  be  killed  out.  The 
rank  and  file  of  the  people  are  apt  to  take  this  matter  of 
names  into  their  own  hands,  and  the  ancient  name  often 
survives  when  the  aristocratic  and  fancy  name  dies  out. 
So  it  was  in  this  case.  The  city  ceased  to  be  called 

*  Stanley  says  80  feet ;  Robinson  says  100  to  150  feet. 

f  Smith,  “  Hist.  Geog.”  p.  474. 


FIG.  21. — THE  VILLAGE  OF  BANIYAS,  BUILT  FROM 
THE  STONES  OF  CAESAREA  PHILIPPI 


FIG.  22. — SUMMER  HOUSES  ON  THE  ROOFS 
OF  BANIYAS 


BACK  TO  CJESAREA  PHILIPPI  107 

Caesarea  or  Neronias,  but  retained  its  old  name  of  Paneas, 
and  to  this  day  the  name  lingers  on  the  lips  of  the  native  in 
the  softened  Arabic  form  of  Baniyas. 

I  clambered  up  the  great  slope  of  debris  which  leads  to  the 
cave.  In  the  hard  surface  of  the  rock,  beside  and  above  the 
cavern’s  mouth,  are  niches  which  once  held  statues,  and 
inscriptions  looking  in  some  cases  as  sharp  as  if  the  chisel 
had  lately  left  them.  The  dedication  to  Pan  and  the  Nymphs 
is  still  perfectly  clear  to  read. 

Passing  through  the  opening,  you  drop  suddenly  down 
from  the  ridge  formed  by  the  fallen  rubbish  and  find  your¬ 
self  in  a  cave  of  much  vaster  size  than  you  realise  at  first. 
Indeed,  it  was  not  until  I  had  been  seated  there  for  some 
minutes  enjoying  the  transition  from  the  glare  of  noonday 
to  the  refreshing  shadow  of  this  retreat  that  I  discovered 
someone  else  besides  myself  enjoying  the  same.  At  the  back 
of  the  cavern  were  a  number  of  black  cattle,  who  had  fled 
from  the  scorching  heat  and  the  tormenting  flies  into  this 
cool  recess.  I  then  realised  the  true  proportions  of  Pan’s 
rustic  grotto. 

Caesar’s  temple  has  disappeared,  though  its  materials 
doubtless  lie  all  around.  One  may  guess,  however,  that 
it  stood  on  that  rocky  platform  just  above  the  cave  and  a 
little  to  the  left,  where  the  white  Moslem  shrine  of  Elijah 
mentioned  above  now  stands.  It  is  the  custom  for  one 
religion  to  adopt  the  sacred  sites  of  another  and  change  the 
dedication,  and  it  is  likely  enough  that  the  Arab  weli  has 
superseded  the  Roman  temple. 

What  a  mixture  of  religious  associations  we  have  at  this 
place  !  This  doubtless  was  the  Beth-Gad  or  Beth-Hermon 
“  in  the  valley  of  Lebanon  under  Mount  Hermon  ”  which 
44  is  thrice  mentioned  as  marking  the  northern  limit  of 
Joshua's  conquests."*  Here  Baal-Gad,  the  lord  of  good 
luck,  was  worshipped  even  as  late  as  the  days  of  Isaiah. |  In 
later  times  came  the  Macedonian  Greeks  to  set  up  here  the 
worship  of  the  god  Pan.  Then  Herod  the  Idumaean  built 
his  temple  here  to  the  Roman  Caesar.  And  while  the  Greek 
and  the  Roman  worship  were  still  living  here  side  by  side, 
Jesus  came  with  His  disciples  “into  the  villages  of  Caesarea 
Philippi,"  and  from  His  momentous  question  :  “Who  say 
ye  that  I  am  ?"  sprang  the  Christian  religion.  In  the  fourth 

*  “  Encycl.  Bibl.”  art.  “  Baal-Gad.” 

f  Schwartz,  quoted  in  Macgregor,  “  Rob  Roy  on  Jordan,’1  2nd  ed. 
p.  225. 


io8 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


century  of  our  era  a  bishopric  was  founded  under  the 
patriarchate  of  Antioch.  In  the  twelfth  century  the 
Crusaders  rescued  it  from  the  Saracens  and  founded  a 
bishopric  under  the  Latin  Church.  Finally  the  Moham¬ 
medans  reconquered  it,  and  there  on  yonder  cliff  stands  to¬ 
day  their  little  weli  of  Elijah. 

Long  we  stood  musing  by  the  infant  Jordan,  where  in  a 
broad  and  sparkling  stream  it  flows  from  the  foot  of  the 
cliff.  Cattle  were  standing  in  it,  children  were  dabbling  in 
it,  and  in  one  cool  nook  within  the  shadow  of  the  trees  a 
brown-skinned  Arab  was  bathing.  We  turned  from  the 
lovely  spot  with  regret,  and  pushed  our  way  through 
tangled  growth  and  over  prostrate  ruins  to  our  tents  beneath 
the  spreading  oak. 

In  the  afternoon  a  hot  breeze  began  to  blow  from  the 
east,  and  induced  a  feeling  of  languor  which  kept  us  loung¬ 
ing  in  camp.  Towards  night  it  rose  to  a  strong  wind,  a 
touch  of  sirocco.  Even  at  8  P.M.  the  thermometer  showed 
8i°,  and  the  hours  seemed  to  grow  hotter  instead  of  cooler 
as  they  passed.  The  wind  rose  to  a  storm,  and  the  men 
were  up  all  night  driving  in  tent-pegs,  tightening  cords,  and 
guarding  the  shaking  tents.  There  was  little  sleep  for  us, 
and  we  rose  next  morning  unrefreshed. 


FIG.  23. — C.FSAREA  PHILIPPI 


THE  GAVE  OF  PAN 


FIG.  24.— CAESAREA  PHILIPPI  :  THE  SOURCE  OF 
THE  JORDAN 


CHAPTER  XX 


FROM  CAESAREA  PHILIPPI  TO  GENNESARET 

We  left  Baniyas  at  our  usual  hour,  about  seven  o’clock, 
retracing  our  steps  to  Tell-el-Kadi  and  the  bridge  across  the 
Hasbani,  and  then  dropping  downward  and  ever  downward 
till  we  reached  once  more  the  Plain  of  Huleh  and  were 
greeted  by  the  same  old  deafening  chorus  of  countless  frogs 
which  we  had  wondered  at  a  week  before  and  which  I 
suppose  had  never  for  a  moment  ceased  since  we  left  the 
place.  Then,  past  village  after  village  of  reed-built  huts, 
swarming  with  little  black  Bedawin  children  (Fig.  25),  at 
one  of  which  I  dismounted  intending  to  photograph  the 
little  creatures,  but  at  a  signal  from  one  of  the  women,  hey  ! 
presto  !  they  all  vanished  in  a  twinkling.  Great  herds  of 
long-horned  Indian  buffaloes  tended  by  wild-looking 
Bedawin  grazed  between  us  and  the  marshes,  while  many 
of  them  lay  in  the  water  like  hippopotami,  or  were  immersed 
in  the  mud  of  pools  and  ditches. 

When  we  reached  our  old  bathing  place,  Ain  Belata,  the 
Marble  Fountain  (so-called,  they  told  us,  because  it  flowed 
from  a  white  rock)  we  found  that  ’Hammad  had  arranged 
for  our  mid-day  halt  there  beneath  a  large  oak.  It  is  a 
lovely  spot,  and  as  we  had  plenty  of  time  before  us,  we 
somewhat  extended  our  usual  interval.  There,  resting 
under  the  deep  shadow,  we  watched  far,  far  up  in  the 
transparent  air — so  high  that  they  seemed  beyond  the  plane 
in  which  the  clouds  float  or  even  that  in  which  the  stars 
shine  at  night-time — a  great  flight  of  white  birds.  They 
were  only  just  within  the  range  of  vision,  and  looked  no 
larger  than  a  swarm  of  bees.  When  the  sunlight  caught 
them  they  flashed  like  silver,  then  as  they  turned  aslant 
they  would  as  suddenly  disappear  ;  and  so,  shining  and 
vanishing  every  minute,  they  took  their  pathless  way 
through  the  cloudless  heaven.  What  were  they  ?  White 
storks  ?  Wild  swans  ?  It  was  impossible  to  say,  but  there 


I  IO 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


was  poetry  in  their  flight  so  high  above  this  sordid  world, 
and  in  that  annual  swarming  northward  at  the  return  of 
spring  which  has  never  ceased  from  the  days  when  Jeremiah 
prophesied  or  Solomon's  Song  was  written. 

We  mounted  again,  and  pursued  our  southward  journey. 
I  have  hardly  alluded  to  the  abundant  traffic  which  we  met 
whenever  we  touched  any  of  the  caravan-routes.  On  this 
very  morning,  we  had  met  near  the  Bridge  of  Ghajar  a 
curious  train  of  donkeys  carrying  ploughs — two  wooden 
ploughs  on  the  back  of  each  donkey.  And  here  again,  in 
the  Plain  of  Huleh,  we  met  many  traders’  caravans,  long 
strings  of  asses  laden  with  pots  and  jars  packed  in  bulging 
nets  woven  from  palm-tree  fibre,  and  great  processions  of 
camels  with  bundles  of  mats  piled  upon  their  backs  plaited 
from  the  reeds  which  grow  in  the  Huleh  marshes. 

Our  ride  to-day  was  short,  not  more  than  five  or  six  hours 
in  all,  so  we  reached  our  camp  early.  The  men  had  pitched 
it  beside  the  mill  at  Ain  Mellaha,  a  rushing  stream  near  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  lake.  There  was  again  a  threaten¬ 
ing  of  sirocco,  the  temperature  in  our  tent  at  4  p.m.  being 
920,  and  not  much  less  in  the  coolest  shade  outside.  So  we 
contented  ourselves  with  sitting  in  the  tent-door  and  watch¬ 
ing  the  exquisite  little  dragon-flies  of  bronze  and  brown  and 
blue  and  the  great  purple  adder-spears  which  flitted  to  and 
fro,  and  with  listening  to  the  cattle-bells  and  the  piping  of 
a  Bedawi  herdsman  and  the  voice  of  the  flowing  water. 

As  dusk  drew  on  a  weird  and  romantic  spectacle  was 
granted  us.  The  Bedawin  of  this  district  spear  the  fish  of 
the  lake,  attracting  them  to  the  surface  by  lighting  fires. 
For  this  purpose  they  had  this  evening  set  light  to  the  dry 
sedge  and  reeds  along  the  further  shore.  Opposite  to  us 
was  a  line  of  flame  over  a  mile  long,  and  there  were  two 
other  fires  away  to  the  south.  Looking  across  the  flat  of 
the  intervening  marsh  one  noticed  a  wavy  black  line  inked 
on  the  blood-red  background.  It  flickered  and  quivered 
unceasingly  against  the  dazzle.  It  was  the  surface  of  the 
lake.  No  human  figures  could  be  seen  from  the  place 
where  we  sat,  which  was  two  miles  or  more  from  the  scene 
of  the  fishing,  but  there  was  a  sound  of  drumming  and  a 
barking  of  dogs,  and  there  floated  slowly  upward,  mounting 
above  the  hills,  rolling  out  into  the  open  sky,  and  drifting 
far,  far  away  to  the  north  across  the  face  of  Hermon,  a 
mighty  column  of  smoke,  brown  and  luminous. 

The  night  deepened,  the  Bedawin  drums  became  more 
distant,  an  army  of  frogs  and  crickets  invaded  the  whole 


FIG.  25.  —  BEDAWI  VILLAGE  :  PLAIN  OF  HULEH 


FIG.  26. — FISHING  BEDAWIN  OF  LAKE  Hfl.KH 


CAESAREA  PHILIPPI  TO  GENNESARET  hi 


plain  with  their  rattling  and  their  fifing,  a  bat  flitting  to  and 
fro  made  a  moving  blot  against  the  flare  of  the  distant  fires. 
Through  the  darkness  came  the  voices  of  our  muleteers,  a 
mosquito  hummed  in  our  tent,  and  the  sentinel  who  had 
just  been  posted  for  the  night  had  already  begun  the 
monotonous  chant  by  which  he  meant  to  while  away  the 
hours  of  watching.  The  moon  and  stars  shone  calm  above 
us  all. 

The  next  morning  we  had  a  glimpse  of  our  fishing  friends. 
I  wandered  down  the  mill-stream  alone  before  sun-rise, 
stripped,  and  plunged  into  the  crystal  stream.  While  I  was 
in  the  water  the  edge  of  the  sun  peeped  over  the  eastern 
mountains,  and  instantly,  as  if  a  spring  were  touched, 
heaven  opened.  The  lower  sky  of  every-day  was  reft 
asunder,  and  far,  far  above  it,  beyond  the  lift  of  any  earthly 
sky  I  ever  saw  or  dreamed  of,  a  canopy  of  gold  and  carmine 
— a  very  tabernacle  for  the  God  of  glory — was  spread 
abroad.  Just  then,  as  I  stood  awe-struck  at  the  wonder, 
there  came  strolling  up  the  stream  one  of  the  black  Bedawin, 
spear  in  hand,  peeping  this  side  and  that  side,  peering  into 
all  the  holes  on  either  bank,  plainly  on  the  look-out  for 
fish.  I  half  wondered  whether  he  might  not  find  some 
welcome  fish  in  the  pockets  of  my  clothes,  but  he  merely 
glanced  at  the  naked  white  man  without  moving  a  muscle 
of  his  face,  and  passed  on.  After  breakfast,  at  about  half¬ 
past  six,  when  we  were  preparing  for  our  start,  a  small 
crowd  of  these  black  fellows  visited  the  camp  and  stood 
gazing  at  us  while  we  packed  (Fig.  26). 

I  could  not  see  their  hair,  since  their  heads  were  covered 
with  the  black  keffiyeh,  but  their  flat  noses  and  thick  lips 
told  of  their  semi-negro  blood,  and  the  map  of  the  Palestine 
Exploration  Fund  marks  the  district  as  inhabited  by 
u  Ghawarineh.”  These  are  the  fellows  who  captured 
Macgregor  in  his  canoe  and  kept  him  prisoner  at  their 
camp  ;  but  I  believe  they  are  friendly  enough  in  the  general 
way,  and  even  on  that  occasion  were  probably  moved  more 
by  curiosity  than  by  any  thought  of  plunder.  The  fishing- 
spear  which  each  man  held  must  be  a  very  ancient  Palestine 
implement,  or  the  mode  of  fishing  at  any  rate  must  be 
ancient,  for  when  Jehovah  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirl¬ 
wind  He  asked,  “  Canst  thou  fill  the  head  of  leviathan 
with  fish-spears  ?”  (Job  xli.  7.) 

We  realised  in  the  course  of  this  morning's  ride  how 
great  a  drop  the  Jordan  makes  from  Lake  Huleh  to  the  Sea 
of  Galilee.  It  falls,  in  fact,  690  feet  in  the  ten  miles  or  so 


I  T  2 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


of  direct  distance.  We  start  about  40  feet  above  sea-level 
and  finish  650  feet  below  it. 

In  due  time  we  reached  the  cross- track  from  Safed  by 
which  we  had  struck  our  present  route  when  making  our 
northward  journey.  After  this  our  road  was  new  to  us. 
The  new  elements  were,  however,  not  those  of  romance, 
but  those  of  strict  and  non-picturesque  utility.  For  here 
we  passed  through  one  of  the  principal  Jewish  farm 
colonies  subsidised  by  rich  European  Jews  ;  and  the  place 
looks  like  what  it  is,  the  reverse  of  a  natural  growth — a  bit 
of  Europe  plumped  down  into  incongruous  surroundings. 
Here  were  European  roads  and  carts,  European  drivers, 
dressed  in  semi-European  garments,  and  beyond  all,  worst  of 
all,  here  was  European  barbed  wire.  But  the  mile-long 
avenue  of  poplar  and  eucalyptus,  with  hedges  of  mimosa, 
gave  a  very  grateful  shade,  for  the  heat  was  fierce  to-day  ; 
and  water  from  a  tap,  which  we  could  drink  without  fear 
of  typhoid,  was  a  veritable  luxury,  albeit  the  farmyard 
where  we  found  it  was  singularly  unbiblical. 

“Twenty  years  ago  or  more,"  says  a  recent  American 
writer,  “  Baron  Edmond  Rothschild  of  Paris,  who,  as  a 
practical  man,  does  not  thoroughly  sympathise  with  the 
Zionist  movement,  undertook  at  his  own  expense  to  try  an 
extensive  experiment  to  demonstrate  the  problem.  He 
purchased  large  tracts  of  land  in  different  parts  of  Palestine, 
and  settled  upon  them  some  twenty  or  more  colonies,  with 
about  ten  thousand  Jews  from  Roumania,  Poland  and  other 
parts  of  Europe.  The  experiment  has  cost  him  at  least  ten 
million  dollars,  and  he  admits  that  it  is  a  failure.  He  has 
abandoned  this  vast  scheme  of  philanthropy,  transferred  all 
of  the  land  and  other  property  to  the  Jewish  Colonisation 
Society  of  London,  and  has  given  it  ten  million  dollars 
more  to  carry  on  the  work."  * 

The  passing  impression  which  one  receives  in  riding 
through  this  Huleh  colony  is  certainly  that  everything  has 
been  done  which  money  can  do.  But  when  one  sees  the 
pale  languid  faces,  and  the  lank  weakly  frames  of  the 
“ labourers"  as  they  lounge  along  by  their  teams  or  peck 
feebly  at  the  soil,  the  conviction  comes  home  to  one  that 
there  are  things  which  money  cannot  do,  and  that  this  task 
of  turning  the  emaciated  Jews  from  Western  towns  into 
successful  tillers  of  Eastern  soil  is  one  of  them. 

*  “  To-day  in  Syria  and  Palestine,”  by  W.  E.  Curtis,  p.  327. 
Chicago,  1904. 


CAESAREA  PHILIPPI  TO  GENNESARET  113 

From  this  point  we  travelled  by  a  mountain  road  to 
Khan  Jubb  Yusuf,  the  old  half-ruined  khan  which,  in  our 
northward  journey,  we  had  reached  via  Kherazeh  ;  and 
thence  we  dropped  by  the  broad  caravan  road  to  Khan 
Minyeh,  by  the  Ain-et-Tin.  The  greater  part  of  this  track 
is  on  one  of  the  main  routes  of  the  country,  a  very  famous 
and  ancient  road.  It  is,  in  fact,  no  other  than  the  Via 
Maris,  the  old  Roman  road  between  the  Mediterranean  and 
Damascus.  From  time  immemorial  the  caravans  have 
travelled  by  this  identical  line  of  march.  Coming  from 
Damascus  they  crossed  the  Jordan  by  the  Bridge  of  the 
Daughters  of  Jacob,  south  of  Lake  Huleh,  thence  climbed 
to  the  point  where  the  khan  of  Joseph’s  Pit  now  stands, 
and  so  descended  to  Khan  Minyeh.  From  this  place,  or 
the  city  which  then  stood  here,  they  followed  one  of  three 
roads :  they  either  struck  westward  out  of  the  Plain  of 
Gennesaret  up  the  Wadi  Rubudiyeh  and  reached  the 
Mediterranean  under  Carmel  ;  or  left  the  Plain  by  the  Wadi 
Hamam,  crossed  Esdraelon,  and  travelled  by  Sharon  and 
Philistia  to  Egypt,  or  they  kept  southward  through  Tiberias 
and  Bethshan  to  Jerusalem.  There  is  no  long-used  road 
in  the  world  which  is  not  full  of  poetry;  but  is  there  any¬ 
where  a  road  so  full  of  poetry,  so  full  of  history  and  of 
sacred  associations,  as  this  old  “Way  of  the  Sea  ”? 


H 


CHAPTER  XXI 

/ 

ROUND  ABOUT  CAPERNAUM 

It  had  taken  us  five  hours  to  ride  from  Ain-Mellaha  to  Ain- 
et-Tin,  taking  the  detour  over  the  mountains  by  Khan  Jubb 
Yusuf,  and  then  we  felt  that  we  had  earned  our  rest,  so 
here  we  made  our  mid-day  halt.  The  thermometer  stood 
at  940  in  the  shade,  and  I  would  fain  have  prolonged  my 
siesta  by  the  Fountain  of  the  Fig-tree,  but  this  was  the  only 
chance  I  should  have  of  studying  this  important  place  in 
connection  with  the  great  Capernaum  question,  so  I  wearily 
dragged  my  limbs  among  the  scattered  ruins  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Khan  Minyeh  and  took  what  notes  I 
could.  They  were  scanty  enough,  for,  as  the  hours  advanced, 
so  did  the  heat :  in  fact,  it  was  on  the  same  afternoon 
(March  29)  that  Dr.  Torrance’s  thermometer  at  the 
neighbouring  town  of  Tiberias  reached  105°  in  the  shade  at 
4  p.m. — eight  degrees  higher  than  the  highest  record  for 
the  month  of  March  in  the  previous  ten  years. 

The  details  of  my  observations  are  given  elsewhere,*  but  I 
may  here  briefly  remark  that  my  earlier  impression  f  that 
there  had  at  some  period  been  a  town  of  considerable  size 
here  was  confirmed.  Robinson,  I  find,  although  on  his 
first  visit  he  spoke  slightingly  of  the  ruins,  wrote,  when  he 
visited  them  a  second  time,  “  the  remains  .  .  .  are  much 
more  extensive  and  considerable  than  my  former  impression 
had  led  me  to  anticipate/'  Lieutenant  (now  Lord) 
Kitchener  also  speaks  of  them  as  “  extensive  ruins.”  The 
group  of  ruins  of  which  I  myself  examined  the  traces, 
appearing  sometimes  only  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  and 
sometimes  rising  into  bold  obstructions  to  the  plough, 
covered  an  area  of  some  five  or  six  acres.  But  Robinson 
and  Tristram  both  describe  additional  ruins  lying  nearer  to 
the  shore  of  the  Lake,  and  to  these  we  must  add  ruins 
mentioned  by  Schumacher,  Wilson,  Merrill,  and  others,  on 
*  See  Appendix  D.  f  See  ante,  p.  72. 


ROUND  ABOUT  CAPERNAUM 


ii5 

the  hill  above  the  khan.  So  that,  all  taken  together,  we 
have  traces  of  a  town  comparable  in  size  with  that  which 
stood  at  Tell  Hum. 

As  to  the  Fountain  of  the  Fig-tree  (Ain-et-Tin)  that  is 
indeed  a  lovely  pool,  crystal  clear,  and,  in  spite  of  what 
Dr.  Thomson  says  in  “The  Land  and  the  Book,"  its  water 
is  sweet  to  the  taste. *  But  it  cannot  possibly  be  the  spring 
Capharnaoum  which  Josephus  mentions  as  irrigating  the 
plain,  for  it  is  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  lake,  and  the  plain 
could  never,  therefore,  have  been  irrigated  from  this  source. 
It  is  full  of  small  fish  and  tortoises,  but  it  is  not,  I  believe,  a 
haunt  of  the  “  Coracinus  fish,"  as  the  Fountain  of  Capernaum 
was  said  to  be. 

It  does  not,  however,  follow  in  the  least  that  because  this 
little  spring  at  el-Minyeh  cannot  have  been  the  Capernaum 
Fountain,  el-Minyeh  itself  cannot  have  been  Capernaum 
village.  For,  as  already  explained,  the  Fountain  of 
Capernaum  may  have  been  separated  from  the  village  by 
this  rocky  promontory,  and  its  water  brought  across  the 
top  of  the  rock  through  the  channel  which  traversed  it  and 
which  still  exists.  Whether  that  channel  is  road  or  aqueduct 
is  still  to  some  extent  a  debated  question.  Those  who 
consider  it  to  be  a  road  rely  upon  the  faet  that  there  are  no 
remains  of  cement  on  the  sides  or  bed  of  the  channel  ;  also, 
upon  the  doubt,  which,  strange  to  say,  still  remains,  as  to 
whether  the  source  of  the  Tabigha  spring  is  above  or  below 
the  bed  of  the  channel.  To  my  own  mind  the  question 
appears  to  be  practically  settled  by  the  testimony  of  Master 
John  Sanderson,  set  forth  in  “Purchas  His  Pilgrimes,"  which 
seems  to  prove  that  as  late  as  A.D.  1601  the  waters  of  et- 
Tabigha  came  pouring  through  this  channel,  and  were 
carried  along  through  the  midst  of  el-Minyeh.*)* 

The  mental  picture  of  old  Capernaum — the  Capernaum 
of  Jesus’  day — which,  standing  in  the  midst  of  these  ruins, 
I  formed,  was  something  like  this  :  The  main  part  of  the 
town  was  clustered  here  to  the  south-west  of  the  rocky 
promontory  which  closes  the  northern  end  of  the  Plain  of 

*  It  is  curious  how  travellers  are  divided  in  their  opinion  upon  the 
quality  of  this  water.  Burckliardt  says  that  it  is  sweet,  so  does 
Tristram  ;  but  Thomson  and  Wilson  both  declare  that  it  is  brackish. 
Perhaps  the  difference  in  opinion  arises  from  their  not  having  ail 
tasted  the  very  same  spring  ;  for,  Robinson  in  his  “  Biblical  Researches 11 
records  that  near  the  main  source  are  several  other  springs,  and  that 
his  guides  said  these  springs  were  somewhat  salt. 

f  See  Appendix  D. 


n6 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Gennesaret.  It  was  supplied  with  sweet  water  from  this 
beautiful  pool  and  Fountain  of  the  Fig-tree.  The  houses 
climbed  the  slope  of  the  hill  towards  the  Roman  castle, 
which  reared  itself,  “  exalted  unto  heaven/'  above  the  rocky 
height,  and  in  which  the  centurion  and  his  soldiers  resided. 
The  ancient  caravan-road  came  down  the  mountain-side 
near  to  the  castle  walls,  and  the  garrison  kept  watch  upon 
it  and  upon  the  custom-house  where  the  publican  sat  at  the 
receipt  of  custom,  levying  toll  upon  the  merchandise  which 
passed  to  and  fro  by  land  and  water.  The  little  town 
extended  in  the  other  direction  to  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and 
here  was  a  small  harbour  for  the  boats  which  plied  to  and 
fro  upon  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  It  is  partly  silted  up  now,  and 
forms  a  flowery  marsh  where  the  papyrus  grows  in 
profusion. 

On  the  further  side  of  the  rock  barrier  was  the  fishing  and 
tanning  suburb.  The  great  stream,  one  of  the  largest  in 
Galilee,  poured  its  warm  brackish  water  into  the  lake,  and 
round  about  its  mouth  then  as  now  the  fish  were  abundant. 
The  fishing-boats  were  anchored  or  drawn  up  on  the  shelving 
beach  of  the  little  bay.  The  water  of  Ain  et-Tabigha  is  said 
to  be  specially  suitable  for  tanning,  and  we  may  suppose 
that  in  ancient  as  in  later  times  it  was  used  for  that  purpose. 
A  part  of  the  stream,  however,  was  diverted  into  an  aqueduct, 
and  carried  through  a  channel  cut  in  the  top  of  the  rock  to 
the  main  town  of  Capernaum.  Its  warm  and  fertilising 
waters  were  used  for  irrigating  the  Gennesaret  gardens  in 
the  dry  season  ;  probably,  too,  they  filled  the  Roman  baths, 
which  were  always  to  be  found  where  Romans  settled. 

Add,  as  a  setting  to  this  picture,  the  rich  sub-tropical 
verdure  and  the  grapes  and  figs  and  divers  fruits  for  which, 
according  to  Josephus,  Gennesaret  was  famous;  and  then, 
as  a  background  to  the  whole,  remember  the  green  hill 
which  rises  close  behind  the  town  and  looks  down  serenely 
upon  its  beauty — the  hill  into  whose  silences  Jesus  would 
love  to  climb.  That  is  the  chosen  home  of  the  Master  as  I 
picture  it.  To  me  it  appears  to  fit  the  Gospel-story  far 
better  than  any  possible  reconstruction  built  from  the 
natural  features  of  Tell-Hum. 

Well,  the  two  or  three  hours,  which  were  all  that  we 
could  devote  to  el-Minyeh,  were  spent,  and  turning  back 
upon  our  tracks  we  struck  north-eastward  across  the  top  of 
the  rock  which  divides  Gennesaret  from  the  Bay  of  Tabigha. 
A  second  time  we  passed  through  the  far-famed  channel 


ROUND  ABOUT  CAPERNAUM 


ii  7 

mentioned  above,  and  again  we  noticed  its  semicircular 
bottom  so  ill-fitted  for  a  road,  so  suitable  for  flowing  water. 
When  we  see  how  it  is  worn  by  countless  hoofs  of  countless 
beasts  through  centuries  of  traffic,  it  is  little  wonder  that 
there  are  no  traces  of  cement  to  be  found  upon  its  surface. 
Issuing  from  it  and  taking  the  path  which  leads  from  it 
down  the  hill-side  toward  the  lake,  we  came  presently  upon 
the  German  Catholic  hospice,  at  which  we  had  called  on  a 
former  occasion,  but  at  which  we  were  not  then  able  to 
make  any  lengthened  pause  in  our  journey.  On  this 
occasion  we  made  a  longer  stay  and  obtained  permission  of 
the  residents  to  examine  the  fresh-water  spring  which 
descends  through  their  grounds  and  which  they  insist  is 
the  real  Ain  et-Tabigha.  It  is  but  a  small  runnel  of  water 
rising  from  under  a  rock,  but  made  more  important  by  the 
German  pfarrer ,  who  has  fashioned  a  rocky  basin,  and  built 
a  stone  dam,  and  planted  beautiful  trees  round  the  pool  thus 
made. 

Then  we  went  on  to  the  big,  brackish  Ain  et-Tabigha, 
which  came  rushing  down  the  mountain-side,  pouring  over 
broken  aqueducts  and  ruined  walls.  Close  beside  it  our 
tents  were  pitched,  and  we  were  glad  enough  to  creep  into 
their  friendly  shade. 

A  naked  fisherman  was  at  work  near  by  with  a  casting- 
net,  standing  in  the  water  up  to  his  waist  to  throw  it.  This 
is  the  very  same  dp^L^XpaTpov  which  Simon  and  Andrew 
were  “casting  in  the  sea”  when  Jesus  called  them  “to 
become  fishers  of  men”  (Mark  i.  16).  The  Sinaitic  and 
the  Vatican  manuscripts  say  that  they  were  “  casting  nets 
here  and  there  into  the  sea,”  and  this  very  graphically 
describes  the  mode  of  operation  with  the  dp^i^x^rpov. 
This  net,  which  is  still  in  use  on  the  Phoenician  coast  as 
well  as  here  at  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  is  leaded  round  the 
circumference,  and  has  a  cord  fastened  to  the  centre. 
When  it  is  thrown  it  expands,  and  the  leaded  circle  falls 
about  and  encloses  the  fish.  It  is,  in  fact,  much  such  a  net 
as  I  have  myself  used  in  boyhood  to  catch  minnows  for 
“  live-bait.”  It  is  now  one  of  the  principal  instruments  for 
fishing  used  in  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  because  the  larger  nets 
require  a  boat,  and  boats  are  so  heavily  taxed  by  the 
wretched  Turks  that  the  poor  Galilean  fishers  cannot 
afford  to  use  them.  Even  the  ancient  Romans  were  more 
merciful. 

Hanna  goes  up  to  my  brown-skinned  fisher  and  begins 


n8 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


to  talk  with  him.  The  man's  black  eyes  sparkle  and  his 
speech  is  eager  and  vivacious.  Presently  Hanna  comes 
strolling  back  to  say  that  the  fisherman  had  told  him  of 
another  fresh-water  spring  which  I  might  like  to  see.  So 
again  I  issued  forth,  and  after  wading  through  some  of  the 
Tabigha  streams  we  arrived  at  a  round-topped  knoll,  less 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  beyond  the  main  stream,  from  the 
base  of  which  the  water  flowed.  I  tasted  it  and  found  it 
sweet.  I  wonder  that  the  Fathers  at  Tell-Hum  do  not  get 
their  water  here  instead  of  at  the  German  settlement ;  it 
would  shorten  their  journey  by  a  good  step. 

The  story  which  the  fisherman  told  about  the  spring  was 
a  little  difficult  to  understand.  He  said  that  it  was  called 
Ain  el-Hasel ;  that  it  was  formerly  covered  by  a  round  stone 
with  a  hole  in  it,  through  which  the  water  forced  itself  up 
into  a  fountain,  but  that  the  stone  had  been  broken  by  the 
Bedawin,  though  the  pieces  of  it  still  exist.  He  said  more¬ 
over  (so  Hanna  interpreted  him)  that  the  water  from  it  was 
carried  by  the  aqueduct  to  Khan  Minyeh,  where  it  turned  a 
mill,  the  ruins  of  which  remain.  I  suspect,  however,  that 
there  is  some  confusion  here,  and  that  mill  and  aqueduct 
were  both  on  the  Tabigha  side  of  the  Minyeh  rock.  I  did 
not  find  the  stream  marked  in  my  Survey  Map. 

The  cook  gave  us  for  dinner  a  fish  which  had  a  biological 
as  well  as  a  culinary  interest.  It  was  a  kind  of  bream  with 
a  very  broad  side  and  almost  circular  body.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  it  was  the  Chromis  Nilotica ,  one  of  those 
Egyptian  fishes  which  are  common  in  this  lake,  although 
both  head  and  tail  seemed  smaller  and  the  flat  side  more 
circular  than  the  figure  of  that  fish  as  given  in  Tristram’s 
“Natural  History  of  the  Bible"  (9th  ed.  p.  282).  It  was 
very  good  eating  and  less  insipid  than  the  bream  of  our  fresh 
waters. 

Tristram  mentions  that  of  fourteen  species  of  fish  which 
he  obtained  from  the  lake,  four  were  essentially  African  :  a 
very  remarkable  fact  when  taken  in  conjunction  with  other 
inhabitants  of  this  wonderful  Jordan  Valley.  We  had  only 
an  hour  or  two  before  seen  the  Egyptian  papyrus  growing 
at  Ain  et-Tin,  and  only  yesterday  left  behind  us  the  great 
papyrus-jungle  of  Huleh  ;  and  many  other  plants  and  many 
birds  of  the  valley  have  African  affinities.  Even  the  human 
inhabitants  with  their  woolly  hair  and  thick  lips  are  practically 
African  ;  though  I  suppose  this  latter  fact  has  no  geological 
bearing,  but  merely  indicates  that  the  climate  in  the  Ghor 


ROUND  ABOUT  CAPERNAUM 


119 

encourages  negro  fugitives  and  nomads  to  live  and  breed 
here. 

One  of  the  African  fishes  in  the  lake  is  that  mentioned  by 
Josephus,  the  Coracinust  the  presence  of  which  in  or  about 
the  Fountain  of  Capernaum,  according  to  his  account,  led 
to  the  popular  belief  that  that  spring  was  connected  in  some 
mysterious  subterranean  manner  with  the  Nile.  The  fish 
in  question  is  identified  with  the  Clarias  macracanthus, 
or  Sheat-fish,  a  curious  eel-like  creature  with  feelers 
above,  beneath,  and  on  either  side  of  its  head.  It  buries 
itself  in  the  sand,  leaving  only  its  head  with  these  long 
feelers  free.  Mr.  J.  Macgregor  records  that  the  Arab  fisher¬ 
men  whom  he  met  called  it  Barbut,  and  alleged  that  it 
was  found  plentifully  in  the  lake,  and  was  exported  by 
thousands  to  Damascus  and  Beyrut ;  and  he  quotes  an 
interesting  passage  from  Rabbi  Schwarz,  who  says,  “  There 
is  found  in  the  Sea  of  Chinnereth  a  very  fat  fish,  ‘  al  Barbud/ 
which  has  no  scales,  wherefore  it  is  not  eaten  by  Jews  ;  l 
consider  it  to  be  a  species  of  the  eel.” 

This  identification  of  the  Coracinus  with  the  Sheat-fish 
is  not,  however,  universally  accepted,  for  some  writers  speak 
of  it  as  being  like  a  perch  ;  which  should  be  a  warning  to 
topographical  controversialists  not  to  depend  too  much  on 
the  Coracinus  argument  in  their  search  for  Capernaum.* 
Perhaps  after  all  the  fish  we  dined  off  may  have  been  the 
classical  creature  which  has  figured  so  often  in  heated 
discussions  as  to  that  holy  site  !  However  that  may  be,  it 
was  certainly  a  Chromis ,  and  as  such  has  one  element  of 
interest  which  Josephus  himself  and  all  the  theologians  to 
boot  could  never  draw  from  any  other  genus.  For  these 
are  the  fishes  lhat  have  the  most  amazing  cradle  for  their 
young  that  any  creature  on  this  amazing  earth  has  ever  yet 
invented.  The  father  fish  takes  the  tiny  eggs  of  the  spawn 
one  by  one  into  his  mouth,  and  there  he  hatches  them.  For 
several  weeks  the  paternal  mouth,  which  is  furnished 
with  pouches  for  the  purpose,  forms  the  home  of  the 
“  small  fry  ”  ;  and  they  live  there  till  they  are  nearly  four 
inches  long,  so  that  the  poor  parent  cannot  even  close  his 
jaws  ! 

The  climate,  I  suppose,  of  this  deeply  embosomed  sea  has 
something  to  do  with  the  extraordinary  fertility  of  its  waters. 
“  The  density  of  the  shoals  of  fish  in  the  Sea  of  Galilee,” 
says  Tristram,  “can  scarcely  be  conceived  by  those  who 

*  See  Appendix  D.  2. 


120 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


have  not  witnessed  them.  Frequently  these  shoals  cover 
an  acre  or  more  of  the  surface  ;  and  the  fish,  as  they  slowly 
move  along  in  masses,  are  so  crowded,  with  their  back-fins 
just  appearing  on  the  level  of  the  water,  that  the  appearance 
at  a  little  distance  is  that  of  a  violent  shower  of  rain  patter¬ 
ing  on  the  surface.’'  This,  perhaps,  may  account  for  those 
“  large  dark  patches  on  the  water/’  of  which  Professor 
Stapfer  writes  as  though  they  were  somethingunaccountable.* 
Dr.  Torrance,  for  many  years  a  resident  in  Tiberias,  whom 
I  questioned  on  this  point,  had  never  observed  these 
u  patches  ”  as  a  phenomenon  special  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
The  roughening  of  the  surface  by  a  breeze  or  by  the  slow 
passing  of  a  shoal  of  fish  he  knew  ;  and  these  one  who 
spends  but  a  few  days  by  these  shores  may  see  for  himself, 
but  beyond  them  I  saw  nothing  to  justify  Professor  Stapfer's 
remark. 

In  the  evening  I  sat  near  the  camp  and  watched  some 
black  and  white  kingfishers  at  work.  It  was  wonderful  to 
see  the  little  creatures  hover  for  a  minute  and  then  pounce 
upon  their  prey.  They  did  not  seem  timid  like  our  British 
kind,  for  a  pair  of  them  went  on  quite  unconcernedly  with 
their  fishing,  although  I  was  fully  in  sight.  I  learned  that 
beside  this  black  and  white  kingfisher,  two  other  kinds  are 
found  here — a  large  blue,  and  a  small  blue. 

Well,  should  we  for  ever  fail  to  locate  Capernaum,  the 
fish  and  the  birds  remain  the  same  ;  the  shores,  the  lake,  the 
mountains  remain  as  of  old  ;  the  flowers  which  grace  these 
grassy  slopes,  the  little  fire-flies  which  glance  among  the 
bushes  in  the  dusk,  must  have  been  known  to  Jesus.  Nay, 
even  Capernaum  must  have  stood  within  two  miles  of  our 
camp  to  the  right  or  left.  Tell  Hum  and  Khurbet  Minyeh 
lie  but  some  three  miles  apart,  and  one  or  other  of  them 
was  the  home  of  Christ. 

*  “  Palestine  in  the  Time  of  Christ.”  Eng.  Trans,  p.  40. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

TWO  DAYS  IN  TIBERIAS 

We  commenced  the  next  day  with  a  delicious  bath  in  the 
lake  in  the  cool  of  the  morning.  Before  we  could  get  our 
dip,  however,  with  any  comfort  or  sweetness  we  had  to  walk 
a  good  step  from  our  camp  in  order  to  get  to  windward  of 
a  putrid  corpse  of  a  donkey  which  lay  upon  the  beach.  My 
fellow-traveller  had  been  in  a  high  state  of  indignation  on 
the  previous  day  concerning  this  presence,  and  had  offered 
a  reward  for  its  burial,  but  his  offer  was  met  by  the  wooden 
faces  which  the  Arabs  always  wear  when  they  mean  to 
refuse  or  disobey. 

This  hateful  custom  of  letting  animals  lie  and  rot  wherever 
they  may  chance  to  fall  dead  obtains  all  over  the  country. 
No  one,  apparently,  ever  dreams  of  burying  them.  The 
bodies  of  horses,  sheep,  and  camels  are  met  with  in  every 
day’s  march,  fouling  the  air  and  offending  the  eye. 
Vultures,  dogs,  and  flies  do  the  work  of  sextons  and 
scavengers — all  the  work,  at  any  rate,  that  is  ever  done — 
and  the  bare  bones  are  then  left  to  bleach  for  months 
beneath  the  staring  sun.  In  part,  no  doubt,  this  is  due  to 
indolence,  but  in  part  also  to  that  total  want  of  reverence 
for  animal  life  which  is  characteristic  of  the  fellah. 

After  breakfast  we  sent  the  tents  and  baggage  to  Tiberias, 
while  we  ourselves  sailed  thither  in  a  fishing-boat.  The 
water  was  rough  enough  to  give  us  a  good  tossing,  but  to 
my  regret  we  saw  nothing  like  a  storm  at  any  time  during 
our  stay  by  the  lake. 

The  coasting-trip  from  Tabigha  to  Tiberias  is  a  matter  of 
some  seven  miles,  and  for  nearly  half  the  way  we  are  sailing 
past  the  shore  of  Gennesaret.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  best 
way  to  get  a  general  idea  of  the  plain.  One  sees  the  moun¬ 
tains  grouped  in  the  background,  and  the  way  in  which  the 
wadis  open  out  from  them.  In  particular  one  is  struck  by 
the  abrupt  and  unexpected  gap  where  the  Wadi  Hamam 


]  22 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


comes  down.  It  is  with  a  thrill  that  one  sets  eyes  for  the 
first  time  on  this  wild  “  Valley  of  Doves/’  so  famous  in 
Jewish  history.  For  here  stood  Arbela,  and  here  took 
place  that  romantic  assault  upon  the  robbers'  caves  by 
Herod’s  soldiers  of  which  Josephus  writes  in  his  “Wars 
of  the  Jews.” 

I  would  fain  know  more  about  these  same  “robbers.” 
Their  magnificent  heroism  is  such  that  it  is  difficult  not  to 
believe  that  some  greater  motive  than  “  robbery  ”  lay  behind 
their  deeds,  some  despairing  patriotism  or  bitter  rebellion 
against  the  ruling  forces  of  the  world.  The  story  tells  how 
they  were  defeated  by  Herod  in  a  pitched  battle,  “for  their 
skill  was  that  of  warriors,  but  their  boldness  was  the  bold¬ 
ness  of  robbers”  ;  and  how  a  remnant  of  them  fled  to  their 
caves  in  this  same  Valley  of  Doves,  and  defied  all  Herod's 
assaults,  till  he  let  down  his  soldiers  from  the  top  of  the  cliff 
in  chests  bound  about  with  iron  chains.  And  then  it  goes 
on  to  tell  of  the  terrible  fight  upon  the  narrow  terraces 
which  were  cut  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  and  upon  which  the 
caverns  opened,  and  how  one  of  the  robbers,  the  father  of 
seven  children,  stoutly  refused  to  let  his  wife  and  children 
surrender  themselves  ;  but,  standing  at  the  cavern's  mouth, 
commanded  them  to  pass  out  one  by  one  and,  as  one  by 
one  they  came,  cut  them  down  with  his  own  hand,  children 
and  wife,  and  cast  their  dead  bodies  down  the  precipice, 
and  last  of  all  threw  himself  down  after  them  rather  than 
yield  to  the  Idumaean.* 

Before  we  are  out  of  sight  of  Wadi  Hamam,  there  is  one 
other  association  with  the  place  which  we  ought  to  bear  in 
mind.  It  was  down  this  wadi  that  the  old  road  from 
Nazareth  came.  When  Jesus  left  His  mountain  home  to 
begin  His  life-work,  He  travelled  to  Capernaum  by  way  of 
this  wild  gorge.  He  passed  beneath  the  robbers’  caves,  and 
as  He  looked  up  at  them  knew  well  that  story  of  desperate 
deeds.  For,  the  weird  fight  had  taken  place  within  forty 
years  of  His  birth  and  within  a  few  miles  of  His  boyhood's 
home,  and  He  must  often  have  heard  the  story  from  His 
father's  lips. 

We  landed  at  Tiberias  at  about  10  A.M.,  and  while  my 
companion  went  on  to  the  camping-ground,  I  went  to  call 
upon  Dr.  Torrance  at  the  Scottish  Mission  to  ask  his  advice 
about  travelling  down  the  Ghor,  in  view  of  the  heat  which 
had  overtaken  us.  For,  to-day  again  the  sirocco  assailed  us 
*  Josephus,  “Ant.”  xiv.  xv.,  4,  5;  and  “Wars,”  i. xvi.,  2-4. 


TWO  DAYS  IN  TIBERIAS 


I23 


with  its  hot  breath,  and  the  thermometer  showed  102°  in 
the  shade  and  1190  in  the  sun.  Like  the  good  Christian 
that  he  is,  the  doctor  immediately  insisted  that  we  should 
leave  our  camp  and  stay  for  a  bit  in  his  cool  stone  house, 
where  the  walls  were  thick  and  the  floors  sprinkled  with 
water.  So  a  messenger  was  dispatched  to  bring  my  com¬ 
rade  back,  and  we  found  ourselves  revelling  in  the  com¬ 
fort  of  a  home.  And  here  it  was  that  we  had  a  novel 
experience. 

It  was  about  four  o'clock,  and  the  sirocco  was  still  blow¬ 
ing,  when  one  of  the  servants  came  in  and  said  something 
to  the  doctor  in  Arabic.  u  The  locusts  have  come  !  ”  ex¬ 
claimed  the  doctor,  and  we  hurried  into  the  garden  to  see 
the  sight. 

What  we  saw  was  a  yellow  snow-storm.  The  air  was 
thick  with  the  insects  driving  with  the  wind  just  as  the 
snow-flakes  drive  in  a  heavy  fall.  The  valley  was  full  of 
them  coming  from  the  lake  and  drifting  up  between  the 
mountains.  Seen  against  the  sky  they  were  like  a  plague  of 
black  flies,  and  their  multitude  was  so  great  that  they 
darkened  the  air.  The  westward  drift  of  the  swarm  con¬ 
tinued  for  an  hour,  then  all  of  a  sudden  a  sort  of  miracle 
seemed  to  occur.  The  wind  quite  suddenly  changed  to  the 
exactly  opposite  quarter.  In  a  moment  heat  was  changed 
to  coolness,  and  in  a  moment  the  flight  of  the  locusts  was 
checked.  For  a  time  there  was  a  confused  mixing  of  the 
swarms,  just  as  we  see  when  snowflakes  are  whirled  about 
by  gusts.  Then  a  steady  drift  in  a  contrary  direction  set  in, 
and  the  whole  flight  was  driven  back  to  the  wilderness  by 
the  way  that  it  had  come.  It  was  difficult  to  realise,  as  we 
saw  them  thus  at  the  mercy  of  every  breath,  that  these  par¬ 
ticles  were  all  alive.  Their  helpless  drifting  greatly  im¬ 
pressed  me,  and  although  it  did  not  occur  to  me  at  the 
time,  I  was  interested  afterwards  to  find  that  the  same 
thing  had  been  used  as  a  figure  by  one  of  the  Hebrew 
Psalmists  to  express  the  helplessness  of  one  subjected  to 
a  bitter  fate ;  “  I  am  poor  and  needy,  and  my  heart  is 
wounded  within  me.  1  am  gone  like  the  shadow  when  it 
declineth  :  I  am  tossed  up  and  down  as  the  locust  ” 
(Ps.  cix.  23). 

Another  scriptural  passage  was  also  illustrated  by  what 
we  had  seen.  The  swarms  had  been  brought  us  by  an  east 
wind,  and  the  sudden  change  to  the  west  had  driven 
them  back.  Just  so  in  the  story  of  the  Egyptian  plague 


124 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


we  read  how  “  when  it  was  morning  the  east  wind  brought 
the  locust/'  and  afterwards  how  “  the  Lord  turned  a 
mighty  strong  west  wind,  which  took  away  the  locusts  " 
(Ex.  x.  13,  19).  The  parts  which  the  east  and  the  west  winds 
play  in  this  phenomenon  are  of  course  explained  by  the 
fact  that  these  insects  are  bred  for  the  most  part  in  the 
Arabian  desert. 

The  swarm  which  we  had  seen  must  have  been  an  un¬ 
usually  early  one;  for,  Tristram  speaks  of  May  18  as  an 
early  date  for  the  appearance  of  the  young,*  and  here 
we  had  the  fully  winged  insect  on  March  30  !  It  is  of 
course  in  the  pupa  state  that  the  locust  does  the  greatest 
harm,  but  in  the  winged  state  also  they  are  very  far  from 
being  harmless,  as  the  doctor  ruefully  told  us  while  he 
gazed  at  them  swarming  over  his  garden.  The  wonderful 
description  by  the  prophet  Joel  of  the  march  of  the  locusts 
refers  to  the  pupa  state  before  the  wings  are  developed. 

In  the  evening  we  walked  through  the  hospital  of  the 
Mission — all  delightfully  ordered,  cool,  sweet  and  airy  ; 
the  patients  looking  comfortable  and  happy,  the  nurses 
brisk  and  clean  as  nurses  always  are.  The  doctor  has 
introduced  and  enforces  the  rule  that  those  who  can  pay 
shall  pay  what  they  can  :  the  poor  pay  nothing.  At  first 
the  well-to-do  objected,  saying  that  they  understood  that 
it  was  11  work  for  God,"  but  the  doctor  stuck  steadily  to  his 
principles,  and  has  taken  in  fees  from  the  rich  as  much 
as  ^110  sterling  in  one  year,  which  goes  to  the  funds  of 
the  hospital,  and  therefore  benefits  the  poor  to  that  extent. 

Dr.  Torrance  says  that  epileptics  are  very  numerous  in 
the  country.  They  are  believed  by  the  people  to  be 
possessed  by  demons,  and  are  usually  taken  by  them  to  the 
native  doctors,  who  say  incantations  over  them  and  write 
charms  to  expel  and  ward  off  the  devils.  Such  facts  re¬ 
mind  one  irresistibly  of  the  New  Testament  stories  of 
poor  folk  possessed  by  evil  spirits  ;  and  it  is  possible  that 
even  Jesus  was  so  far  subject  to  the  limitations  of  His 
countrymen  as  to  use  some  form  of  incantation  when  He 
“ stood  over"  Simon’s  wife’s  mother  “  and  rebuked  the 
fever." 

Certainly  in  respect  of  belief  in  supernatural  agencies 

the  Palestine  of  to-dav  is  one  with  the  Palestine  of  New 

«/ 

Testament  times.  People  of  all  ranks  and  creeds  use 
charms  both  for  themselves  and  their  children  to  protect 

*  “  Nat.  Hist.  Bibl.”  9th  ed.  p.  308. 


TWO  DAYS  IN  TIBERIAS 


125 

them  when  they  are  well,  and  to  cure  them  when  they 
are  in  sickness.  Dr.  Thomson  narrates  that  he  was  called 
to  see  the  sick  son  of  one  of  the  most  respectable  Moslems 
of  Sidon,  and  that  he  found  the  patient's  head  laid  upon 
an  old  rotten  rag  as  filthy  as  the  vilest  hermit  could  make 
it.  When  he  suggested  that  this  should  be  removed  it  was 
explained  that  this  could  on  no  account  be  permitted, 
since  it  was  part  of  the  sheet  of  a  very  holy  man  then 
living  in  Joppa,  and  had  cost  several  thousand  piastres. 
The  child  died  all  the  same.* 

Many  diseases  are  caused,  of  course,  by  the  “  evil  eye," 
and  Colonel  Conder  mentions  that  often  the  peasants  not 
only  leave  their  children's  faces  dirty,  but  if  they  are 
accidentally  too  clean  they  a  even  besmirch  them  to  avoid 
the  consequences  of  an  envious  look." 

The  Jews  are  quite  as  superstitious  as  the  Moslems  in 
these  matters.  They  use  incantations  and  wear  charms 
and  have  various  methods  by  which  they  hope  to  cheat  the 
Angel  of  Death.  Mr.  Robinson  Lees,  who  lived  for  six 
years  in  Jerusalem,  tells  a  strange  but  authentic  story  of 
one  such  device.  “  A  Jew  had  had  six  wives,  all  of  whom 
had  died  at  the  birth  of  their  first  child.  When  about 
to  marry  for  the  seventh  time  he  bought  a  cow  and  tied 
it  outside  his  window.  The  marriage  ceremony  was  per¬ 
formed  between  him  and  the  cow,  and  he  placed  a  ring 
on  its  horn.  The  contract  was  even  drawn  up  mentioning 
the  cow.  At  the  close  of  this  peculiar  ceremony  the 
cow  was  killed  and  its  flesh  distributed  amongst  the  poor, 
and  the  rite  of  marriage  again  performed  with  the  girl  who 
became  his  seventh  wife.  He  felt  quite  satisfied  that  all 
would  be  well,  as  his  sacrifice  to  the  Angel  of  Death 
was  in  place  of  his  wife.  She  lived  and  bore  him  many 
children. "f 

In  reading  the  New  Testament  it  should  always  be 
borne  in  mind  that  it  was  among  such  people  as  these  that 
Jesus  lived  and  taught,  and  it  was  in  such  an  atmosphere 
that  the  story  of  His  deeds  took  shape. 

The  change  of  wind  brought  a  change  of  weather.  At 
midnight  there  was  a  shower,  though  only  of  brief  dura¬ 
tion.  I  was  still  more  or  less  in  a  state  of  collapse,  and  spent 
much  of  the  time  reclining  in  the  garden  among  the  tall 
cypresses  and  huge  spreading  aloes.  The  pomegranates 

*  “The  Land  and  the  Book,”  1866,  p.  152. 
f  “Jerusalem  and  Its  People,”  2nd  ed.  p.  40. 


126 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


were  in  flower  with  their  exquisite  coral  bloom,  and 
through  their  branches  one  could  see  the  bright  blue  of  the 
lake.  However,  I  wandered  for  a  part  of  the  morning 
about  the  town  and  found  my  way  down  to  the  beach.  The 
shore  was  lined  with  Jewish  women  washing  their  furniture 
in  the  waters  of  the  lake  (Figs.  27-28).  So  busy  were  they 
with  this  cleansing  process  that  I  began  to  think  that  the 
Jews  of  Tiberias  had  been  maligned,  and  that  they  were  a 
cleanly  as  well  as  a  godly  people.  I  learned,  however,  that 
this  cleanliness  is  not  a  daily  but  an  annual  custom.  The 
Passover  was  approaching,  and  every  article  of  the  house¬ 
hold  use  must  forthwith  be  washed  ;  so  these  good  women 
had  hauled  their  chairs  and  tables,  their  bedsteads  and  plate- 
racks,  from  their  houses  to  the  beach,  and  were  at  work  upon 
this  useful,  if  ceremonial,  ablution. 

Tiberias  is  inhabited  chiefly  by  Jews,  and  yet  there  was  a 
time  when  no  Jew  would  enter  it  unless  he  was  forced  to  do 
so.  It  was  founded  by  Herod  Antipas  just  about  the  time 
that  Jesus  came  to  live  in  Capernaum — at  any  rate,  not  more 
than  a  year  or  two  earlier — and  during  the  building  many 
tombs  were  removed  and  houses  erected  in  their  place, 
which  of  itself  was  enough  to  make  it  an  unclean  city.  Add 
to  this  that  Herod  peopled  it  with  heathens  and  slaves,  and 
we  can  understand  how  repugnant  such  a  place  would  be  to 
the  Jew  who  cared  for  ceremonial  purity. 

It  was  at  first  a  purely  Greek  city,  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  Jesus  ever  entered  it :  at  any  rate,  it  is  never  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  first  three  Gospels.  Neither  is  the  lake  called  in 
them  the  Sea  of  Tiberias ;  at  the  time  that  they  were  written 
the  city  was  too  new  for  it  to  give  its  name  to  the  lake.* 
After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  however,  Tiberias 
became  one  of  the  chief  centres  of  Judaism.  For  many 
years  the  Sanhedrin  had  its  seathere,  and  afamous  Rabbinical 
school  came  into  existence.  It  is  still  to  the  Jew  one  of  the 
four  sacred  cities  of  Palestine.  I  have  already  mentioned 

*  And  in  the  fourth  Gospel  the  only  mention  of  Tiberias  is  John  vi. 
23.  “  Furrer,  writing  on  the  ‘  Geography  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,’  refers 
to  the  consensus  of  critics  that  the  words  rrjs  Tifiepiadosin  John  vi.  1,  are 
a  gloss  attached  before  the  diffusion  of  our  manuscripts.  Jewish 
writings  of  the  second  century  and  Pausanias  afford,  as  he  shows,  the 
first  evidence  of  the  superseding  of  the  old  name,  ‘  Sea  of  Galilee,’  or 
‘  Gennesareth,’  after  Tiberias  had  acquired  its  later  predominant  im¬ 
portance.  But  the  Appendix  (John  xxi.  1.)  has  ‘the  Sea  of  Tiberias’ 
pure  and  simple,  Furrer,  therefore,  dates  it  ‘bedeutend  spater.’” 
Professor  Bacon,  in  “  Hibbert  Journal,”  ii.  p.  343. 


FIG.  27. — TIBERIAS  :  JEWESSES  PREPARING  FOR 
THE  PASSOVER 


FIG_  28 —TIBERIAS  :  JEWESSES  PREPARING  FOR 
THE  PASSOVER 


TWO  DAYS  IN  TIBERIAS 


127 

their  quaint  superstition  that  in  the  last  days  the  Messiah  will 
emerge  from  the  waters  of  the  lake.  I  wonder  whether 
those  two  young  Jewesses  who  are  sitting  this  morning 
perched  upon  a  rock  off-shore  amid  its  waters  with  clasped 
hands  and  far-away  gaze  are  thinking  upon  that  strange 
coming  of  the  great  Deliverer  ? 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  GADARA 

We  left  Tiberias  in  the  cool  of  the  morning,  riding  along 
the  shore  of  the  lake  past  the  ancient  Hammath,  where  the 
famous  baths  are  fed  by  a  hot  sulphur-laden  spring.  Not 
far  from  the  baths  is  the  tomb  of  Rabbi  Meir,  one  of  the 
great  Jewish  scholars  of  the  second  century.  Indeed,  we 
are  surrounded  here  by  the  heroes  of  the  later  Jewry.  The 
tomb  of  Rabbi  Akiba,  Meir  s  master,  is  not  a  mile  distant ; 
and  the  great  Maimonides  is  buried  close  to  Tiberias. 

Of  Rabbi  Meir  it  was  said  by  his  contemporaries  that  to 
see  him  disputing  in  the  college  was  like  seeing  great 
mountains  torn  up  from  their  base  and  rubbed  against  each 
other  to  dust.  But  it  is  not  for  the  sake  of  his  tremendous 
dialectics  that  we  halt  for  a  moment  before  his  tomb,  rather 
is  it  in  pity  for  the  human  tragedy  of  his  life  and  in  admira¬ 
tion  for  a  courageous  albeit  a  somewhat  erratic  individu¬ 
ality.  We  see  him  in  Rome,  disguised  as  a  Roman,  rescuing 
his  wife's  sister  from  a  life  of  public  shame  at  the  risk  of 
his  own  life.  We  see  him  standing  hand  in  hand  with  his 
noble  and  learned  wife  Beruria  by  the  bier  where  her  two 
sons  lie  stretched  in  death,  acknowledging  that  the  Lord 
had  a  right  to  take  back  what  He  had  only  lent.  We  see 
him  fleeing  to  Babylon  in  search  of  oblivion  from  that 
tragedy  which  never  could  be  forgotten — his  wife's  suicide 
by  reason  of  his  own  masterful  mistake  and  dire  transgres¬ 
sion.  And  we  see  him  in  exile  stretched  upon  his  death-bed, 
sending  his  proud  message  to  his  countrymen  in  Palestine, 
“Tell  the  children  of  the  Holy  Land  that  their  Messiah  has 
died  in  a  strange  country."  It  was  by  his  own  wish  that 
his  body  was  brought  here  to  Tiberias  and  laid  beside  the 
sea-shore.  The  whole  touching  story  is  told  by  Edersheim 
in  his  “  History  of  the  Jewish  Nation."  All  we  can  do  now 
is  to  drop  a  tear  for  the  great  Rabbi  and  still  more  for  the 
noble  Beruria,  as  we  pass  his  tomb  in  our  southward 
journey. 


FIG.  29. — OUTFLOW  OF  THE  JORDAN  AT  KERAK 


FIG.  30.— CROSSING  THE  JORDAN  AT  KERAK 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  GADARA 


129 


We  shall  very  shortly  say  farewell  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 
so  we  seize  our  last  chance  of  a  bathe  from  its  clean  white 
strand,  somewhere  near  Khan  Kadish,  which  we  used  to  be 
told  was  Kedesh,  the  ancient  city  of  refuge,  until  the  real 
Kedesh  was  found  far  to  the  north.  Then  we  ride  on  to 
Kerak,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  lake,  where  the 
Jordan  flows  out;  and  here  we  dismount,  for  we  have 
reached  the  place  where  we  are  to  cross  by  ferry  to  the 
eastern  side  of  the  river,  in  order  that  we  may  see 
something  of  the  Ghor  and  of  certain  cities  of  the 
Decapolis. 

The  business  of  unloading  the  mules  and  piling  the 
baggage  into  the  boats  that  are  awaiting  us,  and  then  of 
swimming  the  animals  across,  is  a  long  one.  But  it  is  an 
interesting  place  for  a  wait,  and  we  by  no  means  regret 
having  the  chance  of  a  leisurely  survey  of  this  historical 
spot,  which  is  in  all  probability  the  Taricheae  of  Josephus. 

We  cannot,  indeed,  be  sure  of  this  identification  ;  for  a 
controversy  rages  round  this,  as  around  so  many  other 
Palestine  places.  Taricheae,  wherever  it  may  have  been, 
was  an  important  city  in  the  time  of  Jesus.  It  was  not  so 
new  as  Tiberias,  for  in  52  B.c.  it  had  a  large  population.* 
Great  ship-building  and  fish-curing  industries  were  carried 
on  there,  and  it  had  a  harbour  which  could  shelter  a  fleet  of 
vessels.  So  that  it  would  be  interesting  to  fix  the  site  of  it 
for  certain,  and  picture  the  place  as  it  showed  itself  to  the 
eyes  of  the  great  Nazarene. 

The  whole  trouble  in  identifying  the  place  arises  from  a 
very  slight  omission  by  Josephus.  He  tells  us  that  Taricheae 
was  thirty  furlongs  distant  from  Tiberias,  but  he  does  not 
tell  us  whether  it  lay  to  the  north  or  south  of  that  city  ; 
and  by  a  series  of  strange  coincidences  the  arguments  for 
each  direction  are  very  evenly  balanced.  They  are  evenly 
balanced,  that  is  to  say,  so  long  as  we  confine  ourselves  to 
literary  evidence ;  but  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  if 
sufficient  weight  were  given  to  the  natural  features  of  the 
place,  this  “  tell  n  at  Kerak  would  be  felt  to  have  greatly  the 
advantage  in  the  argument.  Let  us  climb  the  mound  and 
look  around  us  and  compare  what  we  see  with  the  description 
of  Taricheae  given  by  Josephus. 

The  Jordan  as  it  leaves  the  lake  does  not,  you  observe, 
flow  southwards,  but  swirls  round  and  flows  due  west  (see 
(Fig.  29),  embracing  in  this  eccentric  course  a  tongue  of 

*  See  Josephus,  “  Ant.”  xiv.  vii.  3. 

1 


i3o 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


land  which  is  thus  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  water  with 
only  a  narrow  landward  outlet.  This  corresponds  with  his 
description  of  it  as  strongly  fortified  on  those  sides  “  not 
washed  by  the  sea/'  Again  ;  turn  your  back  to  the  lake 
and  look  at  the  great  plain  of  the  Ghor.  Here  you  have 
that  “  plain  that  was  before  the  city,"  upon  which  Vespasian 
when  he  besieged  Taricheae  saw  that  “a  great  multitude  of 
the  enemy  was  gotten  together."  Here,  too,  just  below  the 
mound,  is  the  port  with  room  for  a  double  fleet  of  ships  ; 
and  yonder  to  the  north-west  is  the  site  of  Sinnabris,  which 
Josephus  says  could  be  “  easily  seen  by  the  innovators"  or 
insurgent  reformers  who  were  besieged  in  Taricheae.*  No 
other  place  upon  the  lake  corresponds  in  anything  like  the 
same  way  to  the  history  of  Vespasian's  siege  as  given  by 
Josephus.f 

The  one  difficulty  is  in  the  fact  that  Josephus  describes 
the  archers  of  the  Roman  enemy  as  shooting  at  the  be¬ 
sieged  from  the  neighbouring  mountain.  Now,  Kerak  might 
possibly  be  described  as  “ under  a  mountain"  (inriopeiog) 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  accompanying  photograph  (Fig. 
29) ;  but  the  mountain  is  not  near  enough  to  Kerak  for 
archers  to  shoot  from  it  with  any  effect.  It  is  quite  possible, 
however,  that  there  may  have  been  a  portion  of  the  town 
separated  from  the  port,  like  a  miniature  Athens  with  its 
Piraeus.!  But  we  must  now  descend  from  the  “  tell,"  for 
our  baggage  has  crossed  the  river,  and  the  boat  is  waiting 
for  us  to  go  on  board. 

When  we  reached  the  further  side  we  found  ourselves  in 
a  hot  dusty  plain,  across  which  we  rode  wearily  for  a  matter 
of  five  miles  or  more  till  we  came  to  the  banks  of  the 
Yarmuk — a  wild  river  dashing  down  a  deep  cleft  towards 
the  Jordan,  of  which  it  is  one  of  the  principal  tributaries. 
In  the  time  of  Jesus  the  Yarmuk  was  the  boundary  between 
the  Perea  and  the  tetrarchy  of  Philip,  and  it  is  by  nature  a 
dividing  stream,  not  only  because  of  the  great  gorge  which 
rends  the  mountain  range  to  form  its  bed,  but  because  the 
country  north  of  it  is  of  a  totally  different  character  from 

*  <f  Wars,”  iii.  ix.  7. 

t  The  argument  for  Kerak  is  clearly  summarised  by  Colonel  Conder 
in  P.E.F.Q.S.  for  1878. 

t  There  is  said  to  be  a  certain  Mellaha  or  Place  of  Salt  on  the  hill- 
slopes  in  the  neighbourhood.  Perhaps  that  is  where  the  people  of 
Taricheae  obtained  brine  for  curing  their  fish, — see  Smith,  “  Hist. 
Geog.”  p.  454,  fn.  1,— and,  perhaps,  a  part  of  the  city  lay  near  there, 
close  under  the  hills. 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  GADARA 


131 

that  on  the  south.  Southward  it  is  all  of  cretaceous  lime¬ 
stone,  while  northward  lies  the  basaltic  region  of  the  Jaulan, 
where  volcanoes,  whose  extinct  craters  may  still  be  seen, 
have  covered  the  limestone  with  their  molten  streams. 

A  great  and  strange  battle  was  once  fought  upon  the  cliffs 
which  overhang  this  gorge.  It  was  between  the  Jewish 
King  Alexander  Jannseus*  and  an  Arabian  army,  and 
happened  within  the  century  before  Christ.  The  Arabs 
conquered  by  means  of  a  wild  and  unheard-of  device. 
They  gathered  a  mighty  herd  of  camels,  drove  them  furiously 
against  their  foe,  till  by  sheer  weight  and  rush  the  whole 
army  was  flung  down  these  precipices  into  the  chasm 
beneath,  Alexander  himself  barely  escaping  with  his  life. 
Strange  to  say,  the  very  same  device  was  used  in  the  same 
neighbourhood  some  seven  centuries  later,  when  the 
Byzantine  army  was  thrown  into  a  defile  in  a  similar 
manner. 

On  the  banks  of  the  torrent  we  found  a  great  concourse 
of  fellahin,  met  together,  as  they  told  us,  in  order  to  make 
a  united  effort  to  dam  the  channel  and  turn  the  water  upon 
their  crops.  The  season  was  indeed  a  disastrous  one  for 
these  poor  peasants.  The  “  latter  rain"  had  entirely  failed, 
and  everywhere  we  noticed  withered  fields,  and  in  places 
even  the  wheat  was  dying. 

The  Sheri  ‘at  el-Menadireh,  as  the  Yarmuk  is  now  called, 
was  much  lower  than  it  usually  is  at  this  time  of  year,  and  was 
fordable,  though  by  reason  of  its  swiftness  not  altogether 
without  difficulty.  It  was  not  above  three  or  four  feet  deep, 
yet  the  horses  seemed  as  though  they  could  scarcely  keep 
their  legs  against  the  rush  of  the  current.  However,  we 
struggled  through,  and  after  continuing  our  southward 
course  for  a  short  distance,  we  presently  turned  sharp  to 
the  left  up  the  mountain-side.  For  more  than  an  hour  we 
zig-zagged  up  a  precipitous  ascent,  then,  gaining  the  level 
of  the  plateau,  crossed  a  stretch  of  cultivated  land.  Here 
and  there  we  noticed  in  the  fields  stray  locusts  which  had 
been  left  behind  by  yesterday's  swarm,  but  we  did  not 
observe  that  any  considerable  damage  had  been  done  by 
their  visitation.  I  think  it  was  in  these  same  fields,  or  it 
may  have  been  among  the  limestone  debris  which  lay  just 
beyond  them,  that  we  saw  magnificent  specimens  of  an  iris 
of  the  rhizomatous  kind,  the  blossoms  of  which,  closely 

*  The  tomb  near  Jerusalem,  known  as  Absalom’s  Pillar,  is  probably 
that  of  Alexander  Jannseus. 


132 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


veined  with  narrow  purple  stripes,  measured  from  four  to 
six  inches  across.  But  our  eyes  were  soon  drawn  away 
from  flowers  and  insects  by  the  distant  prospect  of  the  ruins 
we  had  come  to  visit. 

Our  first  impression  was  that  of  a  confusion  of  unmeaning 
wreck.  Fragments  of  walls  and  heaps  of  stones  covered  a 
vast  area  ;  beyond  which,  far  in  the  distance,  rose  a  mound 
on  the  hither  slope  of  which  stood  a  crumbling  structure 
which  we  surmised  to  be  the  ruin  of  the  ancient  theatre  of 
which  we  had  read.  Such  was  our  first  view  of  the  far- 
famed  Gadara,  once  the  chief  city  of  the  Decapolis — now 
represented  only  by  this  desert  of  rubble  and  by  a  mean 
Arab  village  which  lies  behind  yonder  mound,  known  by 
the  name  of  Mkes. 

We  halted  by  a  large  heap  of  earth  and  stones  crowned 
by  a  bush,  the  branches  of  which  were  completely  covered 
with  shreds  and  rags.  The  camp  was  then  sent  forward  to 
the  village  with  instructions  to  treat  with  the  sheikh  for  a 
camping-place,  and  Mohammed  tethered  our  horses  and 
spread  our  meal  beneath  the  shadow  of  this  sacred  shrub. 

I  have  already  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  mukam 
above  Nazareth  and  the  sacred  tree  at  Tell  el-Kadi  this 
curious  custom  of  hanging  up  rags  as  offerings.  Burton, 
in  his  “  Pilgrimage  to  Al-Madinah,”  *  tells  how,  when  enter- 
ing  upon  the  desert  in  company  with  Arabs,  he  followed 
their  example  in  adding  a  rag  to  those  which  hung  upon 
the  Pilgrims’  Tree,  and  he  mentions  that  Park  in  Western 
Africa  did  the  same  ;  also  that  the  Tartars  worship  mountain 
spirits  by  hanging  dry  branches  with  bones  and  strips  of 
cloth  and  planting  them  in  enormous  heaps  of  stones.  He 
regards  the  practice  as  one  of  the  many  relics  of  fetish- 
worship  which  have  entered  into  the  Mohammedan 
religion. 

Fundamentally  the  custom  would  seem  to  be  the 
degenerate  form  of  a  more  primitive  notion.  The  original 
offering  has  dwindled  down  through  the  influence  of  the 
vicarious  or  representative  idea.  Just  as  the  Egyptian 
shab-ti,  the  little  image  of  a  mummy,  came  to  represent  the 
real  mummy  and  was  buried  with  the  rich  man  in  place  of 
the  embalmed  labourer  who  at  one  time  went  to  the  tomb 
with  him  as  his  servant  in  the  spirit-world  ;  so  these  shreds 
represent  the  complete  garment,  and  that  in  its  turn  repre¬ 
sents  the  wearer  of  the  garment. 

*  Vol.  i.  p.  155,  fn.  1. 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  GADARA 


133 


Such  offerings,  however,  although  they  may  once  have 
embodied  the  sacrificial  idea,  do  not  appear  now  to  retain 
much  of  their  primitive  meaning.  They  are  not  now  gifts 
in  the  ordinary  sense  ;  rather  are  they  channels  connecting 
the  worshipper  with  the  object  or  person  worshipped.*  The 
garment  or  shred  is  left  at  the  holy  place  (and  therein  sur¬ 
vives  perhaps  a  remnant  of  the  idea  of  propitiating  the 
presiding  spirit),  but,  in  exchange  for  it,  that  which  has  been 
in  contact  with  the  holy  place  is  taken  away  and  worn  as  a 
charm.  Holiness  is,  indeed,  to  the  Palestine  peasant  a  sort 
of  liquid  which  may  be  absorbed  by  physical  contact.  The 
man  who  hangs  a  rag  upon  this  bush  at  Gadara  will  take 
from  it  and  wear  about  his  person  another  rag  which  has 
become  soaked  with  the  virtue  of  the  place  by  hanging 
there  ;  and  this  magical  idea  overshadows  and  obscures,  it 
would  seem,  the  original  notion  of  a  sacrificial  offering.! 

After  luncheon,  we  decided  to  walk  through  the  ruins  to 
our  camp,  and  Mohammed  was  therefore  sent  forward  with 
our  horses  while  we  advanced  toward  the  village  on  foot, 
approaching  it  from  the  west.  The  ruins  which  lay  scat¬ 
tered  round  were  the  most  extensive  that  we  had  hitherto 
seen,  but  so  utterly  demolished  by  the  shock  of  earthquakes 
and  by  the  hands  of  time  and  the  barbarian,  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  great  theatre  which  fronted  us,  it  was  diffi¬ 
cult  to  get  any  idea  of  the  buildings  which  they  represented. 
As  we  drew  nearer,  however,  the  plan  of  the  old  Greek 
city  as  explained  by  Schumacher  and  by  Dr.  Merrill  began 
to  reveal  itself.  It  was  strongly  situated.  On  the  north  is 
the  deep  valley  of  the  Yarmuk,  or,  as  the  Greeks  called  it, 
the  Hieromax  ;  on  the  south,  the  cleft  which  is  now  called 
the  Wadi  el-Arab  ;  on  the  east,  a  natural  slope  of  consider¬ 
able  steepness  ;  and  on  the  west,  the  deep  valley  of  the 
Jordan. 

There  was  a  wall  all  round  the  city,  the  traces  of  which 

*  “Encycl.  Bibl.”  art.  “  Dress,”  sec.  8. 

f  The  custom  is  not  confined  to  Islam.  In  the  Haram  at  Jerusalem 
there  is  a  window  through  which  one  looks  down  upon  the  Birket- 
Israin,  the  pool  which  the  Crusaders  believed  to  be  Bethesda.  The 
iron-work  of  the  window  is  covered  with  pieces  of  rag  tied  to  it  by 
(presumably)  Christian  pilgrims.  At  the  church  of  St.  Ouen  in  Rouen, 
the  figure  of  St.  Lawrence  is  similarly  decked.  Kakasu  Okakura  in 
his  “Ideals  of  the  East”  (p.  21)  mentions  the  Sakaki,  or  tree  of  the 
gods,  “  upon  which  are  hung  pieces  of  brocade,  silk,  linen,  cotton,  and 
paper,  cut  in  special  devices.”  In  our  own  island,  pin-wells  and  rag¬ 
bearing  bushes  still  survive. 


J34 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


remain  ;  it  was  about  two  miles  in  circuit.  In  the  centre  was 
the  Acropolis,  formerly  occupied  by  temples  and  public 
buildings.  This  had  theatres  on  two  sides  of  it,  cut  into  the 
slope  of  the  mound,  one  upon  the  north  and  the  other, 
which  I  have  already  mentioned,  upon  the  west.  Westward 
of  this  central  group  of  buildings  were  streets  of  private 
houses  occupying  the  area  through  which  we  had  just 
advanced  ;  eastward  was  a  city  of  tombs,  the  remains  of 
which  are  at  this  day  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ruins  of  the 
kind  in  existence.  As  to  the  modern  village,  that  is  marked 
by  Schumacher  as  lying  to  the  east  of  the  Acropolis,  but  at 
the  present  time  it  has  invaded  the  hill  itself. 

The  people  of  Mkes  are  rough  and  dirty,  with  a  bold  and 
insolent  air.  Most  of  them  carry  a  round-headed  club  as 
well  as  the  usual  long-barrelled  gun.  They  are  both  Beda- 
win  and  fellahin,  and  among  them  are  settlers  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Nablus,  who  keep  themselves  somewhat 
aloof  from  the  other  inhabitants  and  are  said  to  be  fanatical 
and  uncivil.  In  the  course  of  our  wanderings  among  the 
ruins  we  came  upon  a  slope  overlooking  the  valley,  where 
some  plots  of  soil  had  been  cultivated.  Near  by  stood  two 
Bedawi  women  in  violent  altercation.  One  of  them  was 
accusing  the  other  of  stealing  beans  from  her  plot,  and  the 
accused  raised  her  hand  to  heaven  and  swore  by  Allah  that 
she  was  guiltless.  We  stood  for  a  few  moments  watching 
their  fierce  gestures  and  listening  to  their  harsh  voices, 
strongly  reminiscent  of  a  like  argument  in  a  London  slum, 
and  then  turned  toward  the  western  theatre  of  which  we 
desired  to  have  a  nearer  view. 

Prof.  George  A.  Smith  speaks  of  this  as  an  u  amphitheatre/' 
but  that  is  obviously  a  slip  upon  his  part.  It  is  a  semicircle 
in  form,  or  little  more  than  a  semicircle,  certainly  not  a 
completed  circle  or  ellipse.  It  was  not,  in  fact,  a  place  for 
gladiatorial  shows  at  all,  but  for  stage-plays.  Its  date  I  have 
not  seen  discussed,  but  in  form  it  is  evidently  Graeco- 
Roman.  It  is  partly  scooped  out  of  the  side  of  the  hill  in 
the  Greek  fashion,  but  it  is  also  built  in  part  above  and 
away  from  the  slope  of  the  hill,  and  it  has  interior  passages 
or  tunnels  behind  and  beneath  the  seats,  just  as  we  find  in 
those  Roman  theatres  which  were  built  upon  the  flat.  There 
are  also  seven  stairways  ascending  from  the  orchestra  to  the 
topmost  bench,  and  cutting  across  the  tiers  of  seats  in  their 
ascent.  This  again  is  evidence  of  Roman  influence,  for  in 
the  Greek  theatre  the  number  of  stairways  was  always  even. 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  GADARA 


*35 

The  orchestra,  it  is  true,  is  not  of  orthodox  Roman  form, 
for  the  Roman  orchestra  was  exactly  a  semicircle,  while 
this  is  more  than  a  semicircle.  But  neither  is  it  orthodox 
Greek,  for  the  extension  is  not  formed  by  continuing  the  arc 
of  the  circle,  but  by  describing  a  parallelogram  upon  the 
diameter  of  the  semicircle,  as  in  the  large  theatre  at  Pompeii.* 

As  Gadara  was  not  founded  till  after  Alexander  the  Great's 
time,  its  theatres  belong,  of  course,  to  a  date  long  subsequent 
to  the  great  dramatic  period  when  actors  and  chorus  all 
occupied  the  orchestra  or  level  space  below  the  seats,  with 
the  altar  of  Dionysos  in  their  midst.  The  theatre  at  which 
we  are  looking  had  a  stage  raised  above  the  orchestra  and 
facing  the  audience.  Yonder  doorway  upon  our  right,  of 
which  the  arched  headway  rises  above  the  debris,  opened 
upon  the  orchestra  ;  the  proscenium  or  stage  was  imme¬ 
diately  on  this  side  of  it.  Beneath  was  the  ghost-chamber, 
in  which  the  metal  thunder-jars  were  kept,  and  from  which 
the  ghosts  who  figured  in  the  tragedy  passed  upward  by  a 
stairway — Charon's  steps,  as  they  were  called — to  the 
stage  itself.  At  at,  actors  and  spectators  alike  are  ghosts 
now  ! 

The  back  of  the  stage  was  just  where  we  are  standing  and 
consisted  of  a  lofty  scena,  what  we  should  call  a  back-scene, 
which  with  the  ancients  was  not  a  pasteboard  affair,  but  a 
good  substantial  wall.  These  great  blocks  heaped  in  con¬ 
fusion  at  our  feet  are  the  stones  of  the  fallen  scena  and  of 
the  postscenium  or  chamber  behind  the  scene,  into  which  the 
actors  retired.!  Look  before  you,  and  you  will  see  what 
brought  them  down.  The  horizontal  shift  of  the  stones  in 
so  many  parts  of  the  auditorium  shows  that  earthquakes 
have  been  at  work.  The  lofty  wall  of  the  scena ,  not  being 
supported  like  the  semi-circular  cavea  by  a  hillside  backing, 
was  usually  the  first  to  go. 

Dr.  Merrill,  in  his  interesting  book  “  East  of  the  Jordan," 
writing  about  this  same  theatre,  remarks  that  “  the  spectators, 
from  their  seats  in  the  west  theatre,  could  overlook  the 

*  See  plan  given  by  Schumacher  in  his  “  Northern  Ajlun  ”  (p.  55). 

t  Schumacher’s  plan  does  not  give  any  postscenium.  but  he  makes 
the  stage  twenty-two  feet  broad,  and  as  the  orchestra  was  sixty-seven 
feet,  five  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  breadth  of  the  Roman  stage  was 
reckoned  at  a  quarter  of  the  diameter  of  the  orchestra,  this  would  leave 
about  five  feet  for  the  postscenium.  This  would  certainly  be  narrower 
than  usual,  but  when  one  has  seen  the  chaos  which  lies  where  the  scena 
and  pulpitum  once  stood,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Schumacher  can 
have  given  us  very  precise  measurements. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


136 

finest  portion  of  Palestine."  And  this  is,  doubtless,  a  true 
estimate  of  the  character  of  the  prospect ;  but  it  is  scarcely 
true  that  the  spectators  could  see  it.  The  glory  of  the 
view  was  almost  entirely  shut  out  by  the  lofty  wall  just 
described.  What  they  had  before  them  was  probably  the 
representation  of  a  palace  or  temple  built  flat  against  the 
wall ;  or  perhaps  they  had  a  painted  canvas  hung  in  front 
of  the  permanent  palace-scene,  for  such  temporary  scenes 
were  in  use  in  the  Roman  theatres  from  99  B.C.  onwards. 

But  let  us  pass  forward  across  the  orchestra  to  the  semi¬ 
circle  of  seats  where  the  spectators  sat  of  old.  The  seats 
are  wonderfully  well  preserved.  There  are  fifteen  rows, 
with  stairways  and  landings.  In  the  orchestra  itself  there 
may  have  sat,  after  the  Roman  fashion,  a  few  of  the  most 
distinguished  officials — magistrates  and  priests.  N ext  comes, 
slightly  raised  above  the  level  of  the  orchestra,  a  semi¬ 
circular  pavement  twelve  feet  wide  ;  and  from  this  five  rows 
of  seats  ascend.  These  are  the  seats  of  the  privileged 
people — the  aristocracy — they  are,  in  fact,  the  “  stalls  ”  of 
that  period.  Then  comes  a  landing  nine  feet  and  a  half 
wide,  which  runs  round  the  entire  semicircle.  This  landing 
is  backed  by  a  perpendicular  wall  nearly  seven  feet  high, 
pierced,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  photograph  (Fig.  31),  with 
round-headed  doorways  which  lead  into  a  corridor  to  be 
presently  described.  Above  this  wall  are  ten  more  rows  of 
seats  for  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Gadarene  men.  And 
above  these  again,  separated  from  them  by  a  three-foot  wall 
with  a  cornice,  were  probably  two  or  three  more  rows  of 
seats  for  the  women.* 

From  the  prcecinctio  or  landing,  mentioned  above,  we 
now  pass  through  one  of  the  doorways  into  the  corridor, 
which  is  built  below  and  behind  the  upper  or  main  tier  of 
seats.  It  is  a  roomy  passage  with  an  arched  roof,  running 
round  the  semicircle  from  end  to  end.  The  arrangement  is, 
in  fact,  just  like  that  of  our  modern  theatres  with  their 
corridors  behind  the  boxes.  The  floor  has  been  broken 
through  in  places,  and  reveals  another  corridor  below 
(Fig.  32).  The  natives  call  these  corridors  u  the  prison," 
and  they  use  them  for  storing  their  grain,  several  heaps  of 
which  lie  piled  within  their  shelter.  There  seems,  however, 
at  one  time  to  have  existed  among  the  population  a  truer 
tradition  as  to  the  purpose  of  these  theatres,  for  the  rocky 

See  “  Encycl.  Brit.,'’  9th  ed.,  art.  “  Theatre,”  where  authorities  for 
this  position  of  the  women’s  seats  are  cited. 


FIG.  31. — WESTERN  THEATRE  AT  GADARA 


FIG.  32.— THEATRE  AT  GADARA  :  THE  CORRIDORS 


I 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  GADARA 


137 

platform,  in  the  sides  of  which  they  are  carved  is  still 
known  to  the  villagers  as  El-Mel'ah,  “  the  place  of  the 
play/'  * 

To  that  platform  we  now  climbed,  and  found  ourselves 
among  the  native  hovels.  As  usual,  the  dogs  of  the  village 
rushed  out  upon  us  with  fury,  barking  and  snarling  and 
showing  their  teeth,  but  keeping  out  of  arm's  reach. 
Cutting  across  a  corner  of  the  mound,  we  descended  on  the 
northern  side  and  found  our  camp  pitched  close  to  the 
second  theatre — a  structure  in  a  far  more  ruinous  condition 
than  that  which  we  had  just  left.  That  had  well-defined 
tiers  of  seats  retaining  their  form  and  sweep,  and  built  of 
hard  clean-cut  blocks  ;  but  this  northern  theatre  is  little 
more  than  a  heap  of  earth  and  stones  ;  the  rows  of  benches 
can  no  longer  be  counted,  and  were  it  not  for  the  arched 
openings  at  either  end  of  the  semicircle,  which  tell  where 
doors  once  opened  on  the  orchestra,  the  traveller  might 
almost  pass  by  this  scoop  in  the  hillside  without  recognising 
its  origin  or  purpose. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  at  the  camp,  the  sheikh  of  the 
village  paid  us  a  visit.  Unlike  most  of  his  fellow-villagers 
he  seemed  a  decent  sort  of  man,  with  kindly  eyes  and  an 
intelligent  face.  I  made  inquiries  of  him  concerning  the 
old  city-gate  of  which  I  had  read,  and  which  Schumacher 
describes  as  flanked  by  pillars  of  basalt,  and  having  a  well- 
preserved  cornice.  The  sheikh  informed  me  with  much 
simplicity,  and  with  the  air  of  having  performed  a  merit¬ 
orious  deed,  that  he  had  pulled  the  gateway  down  to 
furnish  stones  for  building  his  own  house.  He  showed  me 
where  it  had  stood  ;  it  was  a  few  steps  beyond  the  northern 
theatre,  spanning  the  paved  road  which  passes  it.  He  told 
us,  moreover,  that  within  his  recollection  there  was  another 
gateway  besides  this,  leading  up  to  the  theatre  itself.  I  find 
that  Schumacher  has  noted  the  vestiges  of  this  gateway  in 
his  book  on  “Northern  Ajlun"  (p.  49).  The  sheikh  was 
far  more  curious  concerning  his  surroundings  than  is 
usually  the  case  with  the  peasants.  He  made  many  per¬ 
tinent  inquiries  as  to  the  history  of  the  place  and  to  whom 
it  had  formerly  belonged.  Before  he  left  us  we  engaged 
from  him  a  man  to  act  as  our  guide  to  the  ruins  of  Pella  on 
the  following  day. 

The  paved  road  just  mentioned  leads  westward  from  the 
northern  theatre  to  a  considerable  distance.  It  is  formed 
*  Schumacher,  ”  Northern  Ajlun,”  p.  50. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


*38 

of  large  blocks  of  basalt  carefully  fitted,  and  was  originally 
flanked  by  colonnades  like  the  “  Street  of  Columns in 
Samaria.  This  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the  principal  streets  of 
the  city,  and  the  mark  of  the  traffic  which  passed  along  it 
may  still  be  seen,  for  here  are  the  grooves  cut  by  the  chariot- 
wheels  of  generations,  where  the  great  people — Greeks  and 
Romans — once  thundered  along  on  their  business  or  their 
pleasure. 

A  great  part  of  the  afternoon  I  spent  in  wandering  about 
with  my  camera.  Once  when  I  was  alone  and  at  some 
distance  from  our  camp,  a  native  with  a  bludgeon  came  up 
to  me  with  a  truculent  air,  and  I  quite  expected  to  be 
robbed  ;  but  if  he  entertained  any  such  idea,  it  was  averted 
by  the  amusement  of  looking  into  the  “  finder  ”  of  the 
camera  at  the  small  pictures  of  the  surrounding  scene, 
which  apparently  afforded  him  great  delight. 

One  of  the  natives  brought  me  a  handful  of  coins,  and 
among  them  were  one  or  two  of  interest.  Here,  for 
instance,  is  a  typical  Gadara  coin  bearing  the  figure  of  a 
ship  with  rowers,  showing  that  at  one  time  the  territory  of 
the  city,  extended  to  the  shores  of  yonder  lake.  Each  city 
of  the  Decapolis  governed,  in  fact,  a  large  territory  extend¬ 
ing  far  beyond  its  own  suburbs  and  sometimes  embracing 
many  villages.  This  explains,  of  course,  what  is  meant  by 
the  “  country  of  the  Gadarenes "  in  that  reading  of 
Mark  v.  i  from  which  the  Authorised  Version  takes  its 
translation.  The  territories  of  Pella,  Scythopolis,  Gadara, 
and  Hippos  joined  each  other,  so  that  the  u  borders  of  the 
Decapolis "  through  which  Jesus  came  to  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  on  His  journey  back  from  Phoenicia  was  a  fairly 
solid  belt  of  land. 

Here,  again,  is  another  coin  in  the  same  handful, 
which  illustrates,  in  a  manner,  that  journey  of  Jesus  to 
which  I  have  just  referred.  It  is  a  Phoenician  coin,  and 
reminds  us  of  the  constant  intercourse  that  obtained 
between  the  cities  of  the  Decapolis  and  the  “  borders  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon."* 

It  is  this  connection  with  New  Testament  times,  yielding 
points  of  contact  with  the  Story  of  the  Gospels,  which  gives 
the  thrill  and  the  zest  to  our  wanderings  among  these 
ruins.  That  great  confederation  of  Greek  cities  established 
for  mutual  defence  against  Jew  and  Arab  still  existed  and  was 

*  Another  interesting  coin  included  in  the  same  purchase  (Fig.  35), 
was  struck  at  Tiberias  in  the  reign  of  Domitian. 


FROM  TIBERIAS  TO  GADARA 


139 


active  in  Christ's  time.  True,  it  had  lost  something  of  its 
independence  and  its  glory  beneath  the  dominion  of  Rome, 
but  its  cities  were  still  Greek  in  their  customs  and  their  life, 
and  contemptuous  of  that  Hebrew  race  from  which  they 
felt  themselves  to  be  utterly  alien. 

It  was  with  such  thoughts  that  we  returned  to  our  camp 
and  sat  in  the  tent-door  gazing  into  the  depths  beneath  us. 
The  view  was  magnificent,  embracing  the  valleys  of  the 
Yarmuk  and  Jordan  and  the  southern  half  of  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  where  Tiberias  lay  gleaming  in  the  sunlight.  Our 
tents  were  pitched  amid  the  ruins  of  paganism  and  looked 
down  upon  the  birthplace  of  Christianity.  The  paved  road 
and  the  colonnaded  street  passed  close  to  us,  the  great 
theatre  spread  its  arms  around  us,  the  Acropolis  overlooked 
us.  The  stage-plays,  the  athletic  games,  the  chariot  races, 
the  pagan  ritual — all  have  passed,  but  in  Christ's  time  they 
were  alive,  and  the  humble  Galilean  looked  up  from  yonder 
villages  in  wonder  and  resentment  at  this  magnificence  of 
the  Gentiles  who  “  exercised  lordship  over  them."  In  the 
words  of  Professor  George  Adam  Smith,  “  The  Decapolis 
was  flourishing  in  the  time  of  Christ's  ministry.  Gadara,  with 
her  temples  and  her  amphitheatres,  with  her  art,  her  games 
and  her  literature,  overhung  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  and  the 
voyages  of  its  fishermen.  A  leading  Epicurean  of  the 
previous  generation,  the  founder  of  the  Greek  anthology, 
some  of  the  famous  wits  of  the  day,  the  reigning  emperor's 
tutor,  had  all  been  bred  within  sight  of  the  homes  of  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament.  Philodemus,  Meleager, 
Menippus,  Theodorus,  were  names  of  which  the  one  end 
of  the  Lake  of  Galilee  was  proud,  when  Matthew,  Peter, 
James  and  John,  were  working  at  the  other  end." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


FROM  GADARA  TO  PELLA 

The  temperature  in  the  tent  at  six  o'clock  the  next  morning 
(April  2)  was  50°,  but  when  we  reached  the  valley 
of  the  Jordan  one  hour  and  a  half  later,  the  thermometer 
stood  at  70°,  and  from  that  time  the  heat  rapidly 
increased.  We  did  not  descend  by  the  Wadi  Arab,  but  by 
an  easier  path  which  brought  us  out  to  the  south  of  that 
wadi.  On  the  way  down  we  passed  one  of  those  isolated 
pillars  which  seem  such  a  riddle  in  this  land.  This  one  was 
of  great  size,  the  largest  I  had  yet  seen,  and  appeared  to  be 
cut  out  of  a  kind  of  coarse  conglomerate.  It  lay  prone  and 
broken  in  half  and  was  far  away  from  any  building.  Could 
it  possibly  have  rolled  down  the  mountain  slope  to  this 
great  distance  from  the  town  above  ?  The  thing  seemed 
incredible. 

In  our  descent  from  the  hills  many  fine  views  were  given 
to  us  of  the  land  beyond  the  Jordan.  Safed,  Nazareth, 
Tabor,  Little  Hermon,  Gilboa,  and  even  Carmel  were  in 
sight.  Near  the  bottom  of  the  slope  we  caught  our  last 
glimpse  of  the  lake,  and  a  few  minutes  later  we  joined  the 
road  which  runs  from  north  to  south  down  the  length  of 
the  Jordan  valley. 

This  bridle-road  down  the  Ghor  is  perfectly  distinct  and 
good.  On  our  right  was  a  great  plain  stretching  away  to 
the  river.  The  course  of  the  Jordan  itself  is  marked  by  a 
long  winding  line  of  low  cliff,  very  distant  from  our  road 
which  keeps  close  under  the  hills.  This  is  doubtless  one  of 
those  curious  terraces  left  by  the  long  lake-valley  when, 
after  the  pluvial  period,  it  shrank  to  the  narrow  channel 
which  the  river  now  fills.  Below  this  cliff  there  is  a  line  of 
tamarisk  and  thick  sedge  which  harbours  wild  boars  and 
other  beasts,  but  which  was  too  distant  to  be  clearly  seen  by 
us.  In  parts  the  plain  is  cultivated  with  wheat,  but  else¬ 
where  it  grows  only  what  gardeners  call  “  rubbish  ” — not 


FIG.  33.— GAWARINEH  BOY 


FROM  GADARA  TO  PELLA 


141 

grass,  but  coarse  weeds  and  rank  untidy  looking  tussocks. 
It  is  crossed  by  many  clear  and  beautiful  streams,  none  of 
them  at  this  season  too  deep  for  easy  fording.  Some  of 
these  streams  have  been  diverted  from  their  natural  channels 
and  made  to  run  lengthwise  down  the  valley  for  purposes 
of  irrigation. 

On  our  left  was  an  upland  ridge  of  varying  height  and 
form.  In  places  it  was  composed  of  not  very  high  rocks, 
but  for  the  most  part  of  rounded  hills  almost  like  Sussex 
downs.  This  is  perhaps  the  eastern  bank  of  the  prehistoric 
lake  just  mentioned.  Here  and  there  a  wadi  breaks  through 
this  low  range,  and  you  get  a  peep  of  the  real  mountains 
which  lie  behind  in  majestic  ranks,  hidden  from  us  for  the 
most  part  by  reason  of  our  nearness  to  the  foot  of  the  low 
terrace. 

The  Ghor  is  far  from  being  desert.  Wherever  there  is  a 
stream  you  have  masses  of  oleander  bushes,  which  were 
now  in  full  bloom.  There  were  also  quantities  of  single 
hollyhocks  with  pink  blossoms.  Now  and  then  a  gazelle 
would  cross  our  path  and  scamper  up  the  hills. 

We  passed  large  assemblages  of  black  Bedawin  tents.  In 
one  part  the  whole  plain,  almost  as  far  as  we  could  see,  was 
dotted  with  black  tents  and  black  cattle.  The  women  were 
decently  dressed  and  some  of  them  wore  silver  anklets  ; 
but  the  boys  and  lads  who  tended  the  cattle  were  very 
ragged  and  unkempt.  They  were  of  course  all  of  the 
negroid  type.  One  little  shepherd-boy  whom  I  photo¬ 
graphed  while  Hanna  engaged  him  in  conversation  was 
suffering  from  a  disease  which  they  call  “  jarrab  ”  :  a  scabby 
complaint  which  attacks  both  men  and  camels  in  the  spring 
of  the  year.*  His  tribe,  as  I  understood  the  name,  was 
called  Schurah-Ghor  (see  Figs.  33,  34). 

As  we  journeyed  down  this  wild  valley,  feeling  that  we 
were  now  very  far  removed  from  anything  like  civilisation, 
the  illusion  was  suddenly  broken  by  the  apparition  of  a 
white  tent  flying  a  flag  which  bore  the  Turkish  Crescent. 
Upon  inquiry  we  learned  that  three  fellahin  had  been  killed 
by  Bedawin  in  a  dispute  a  few  days  before,  and  that  this 
was  the  tent  of  an  official  who  had  been  sent  to  inquire  into 
the  matter.  The  Turkish  rule  is  in  fact  far  more  effective 
on  the  east  of  Jordan  than  it  was  some  five  and  twenty  years 
ago.  Discipline  of  some  sort  is  maintained  ;  and  if  only 

*  See  “Survey  of  Western  Palestine;  Memoir  on  Physical 
Geology,”  &c.,  by  E.  Hull,  p.  130. 


142 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  Turk  could  learn  that  punishing  and  taxing  are  not  the 
only  functions  of  government,  but  that  such  matters  as 
irrigation  and  road  mending  are  worthy  of  some  attention, 
this  tropical  valley,  so  rich  in  soil  and  so  abundant  in  streams, 
might  become  a  region  of  phenomenal  luxuriance. 

It  was  interesting  to  remember  that  our  journey  down  the 
Ghor  was  taken  at  the  same  season  of  the  year  as  that  in 
which  Jesus  travelled  down  it  on  His  last  journey  to  Jeru¬ 
salem,  and  to  reflect  that,  so  far  as  natural  scenery  and 
natural  products  were  concerned,  what  we  saw  was  much 
the  same  as  what  He  had  seen.  I  have  thought  that  even 
the  dryness  of  the  season  may  have  been  the  same.  For 
had  the  season  been  as  wet  as  it  usually  is  before  Easter, 
foot  passengers  would  certainly  have  found  some  difficulty 
in  crossing  the  numerous  streams  which  intersect  the 
valley. 

On  another  point,  however,  one  feels  considerable  doubt. 
Keim  regards  this  route  as  being  taken  by  Jesus  because  it 
was  “unfrequented."  He  speaks  of  it  as  “  quiet/'  “  remote," 
“  sparsely  populated,"  and  passing  “few  inhabited  places," 
and  other  writers  have  adopted  the  same  view.  This  might 
be  accepted  as  a  fairly  correct  description  now,  but  is  it  a 
correct  description  of  what  the  valley  was  then  ?  Certain  it 
is  that  even  in  the  small  portion  of  the  valley  which  we 
traversed  we  passed,  besides  Bedawi  villages,  many  pieces 
of  ancient  wall  showing  where  substantial  buildings  had 
once  stood.  These  ruined  buildings  may  indeed  have  been 
watch-towers,  or  crusading  fastnesses,  or  Saracen  khans,  or 
what  not ;  but  on  the  other  hand  they  may  indicate  buried 
sites  belonging  to  much  older  times,  and  one  hesitates  to 
accept  Keim's  theory  of  that  Last  Journey  until  something 
in  the  way  of  excavation  has  been  attempted  down  the  Ghor. 

At  El-Waggas  (or  Wakkas)  we  halted  for  a  rest.  This  is 
a  mud-built  village  shaded  by  trees,  with  a  white-domed 
stone  weli  in  its  midst  (Fig.  36).  We  learnt  its  name  from 
some  lounging  natives,  and  Hanna  told  us  that  it  was 
a  Bedawi  village,  the  houses  of  which  were  mainly  used  for 
storage  purposes,  though  in  winter  he  said  the  Arabs  left 
their  tents  and  lived  in  them.  Schumacher,  however,  who 
mentions  the  village  in  his  “Abila  of  the  Decapolis,"  says 
that  the  hamlet  consists  of  winter-huts  belonging  to  the 
village  of  et-Taiyibeh.  The  weli  he  describes  as  “an  old 
Mohammedan  Weli  of  Sheikh  Wakkas."  After  a  short  rest 
we  continued  our  journey  southward,  crossing  the  Wadi 


FIG.  35. — COIN  STRUCK  AT  TIBERIAS 


FIG.  36. — VALLEY  OF  EL-WAGGAS 


FIG.  37. — PELLA  :  THE  TERRACE 


FROM  GADARA  TO  PELLA 


143 


Siklad,  the  Wadi  Abu  Said,  and  another  stream,  and  then 
turned  sharply  to  the  left  up  the  hillside  to  Tubukat  Fahil, 
which  was  the  goal  of  our  morning’s  ride. 

Fahil  is  pretty  generally  accepted  as  identical  with  the 
ancient  Pella,  a  place  of  great  historical,  and  especially  of 
Christian  interest.  The  origin  of  the  name,  it  is  true,  is  open 
to  doubt.  Professor  George  Adam  Smith  says  that  “  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  understand  how  ‘  Fahil '  could  have  arisen  from 
1  Pella  ’  ”  ;  but  Thomson,  on  the  other  hand,  says  that  his 
guide  assured  him  that  “  Felah”  was  still  the  true  name  of 
Fahil,* * * §  and  Guy  Le  Strange  quotes  Arabic  authority  to 
prove  that  the  name  is  foreign  to  that  tongue. t  The  evi¬ 
dence  for  the  identification  does  not  however  rest  upon  the 
existing  name  ;  it  is  historical  and  geographical.  The 
arguments  are  too  lengthy  to  be  given  here,  but  the  reader 
who  cares  to  study  them  may  find  them  in  the  pages  of 
Robinson,^;  who  was  the  original  discoverer,  or  of  Dr. 
Merrill,  who  sets  forth  the  principal  points  at  some  length. § 
To  the  evidence  there  given  one  important  fact  mentioned 
by  Le  Strange  ||  ought  to  be  added,  namely  that  among  the 
Moslems  the  great  Battle  of  Fahal  was  also  called  the  Day 
of  Beisan,  and  Beisan  lies  only  a  couple  of  hours  away. 

As  to  the  history  of  Pella,  the  two  points  which  were 
personally  interesting  to  us  and  which  had  led  to  our  visiting 
its  ruins,  were  its  position  as  a  member  of  the  Decapolis  and 
its  connection  with  Christian  history.  It  was  founded,  of 
course,  long  before  the  League  of  the  Decapolis  was  formed, 
having  been  originally  built  by  the  veterans  of  Alexander, 
and  named  after  the  Macedonian  Pella,  Alexander’s  own 
birthplace.  Gadara  and  Pella  were  in  fact  two  of  the 
oldest  Greek  cities  in  Syria  ;  by  218  B.c.  they  were  already 
strong  fortresses.  The  Jews  hated  these  Greek  cities  and 
deprived  them  of  self-government ;  but  Rome  restored  their 
autonomy,  together  with  the  right  of  coinage,  asylum, 
mutual  association,  and  the  power  to  hold  property  in  sur¬ 
rounding  districts  ;  wherefore  several  of  them,  and  Pella 
among  them,  reckoned  their  eras  from  the  date  of  Pompey’s 
Syrian  campaign,  64-63  B.c. 

It  was  at  some  time  between  this  date  and  the  time  of 

*  “  The  Land  and  the  Book,”  p.  456, 

f  “  Palestine  under  the  Moslems,”  p.  439. 

j  “  Later  Researches,”  p.  323. 

§  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  pp.  442-7. 
j|  “  A  Ride  through  Ajlun,”  p.  274. 


144 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Christ’s  ministry — the  precise  date  is  not  known — that  the 
League  of  Greek  cities  in  Eastern  Palestine  called  the 
“  Decapolis  ”  was  formed.  Mutual  defence  was  the  prime 
motive  of  the  League  (for  Rome,  although  it  was  their  over- 
lord,  was  not  ably  fully  to  protect  them  against  the  desert 
robbers  and  other  hostile  influences),  but  the  association 
had  also  the  further  aims  of  mutual  aid  in  commerce  and 
the  fostering  of  Greek  religion  and  social  life. 

The  original  ten  cities  which  formed  the  Decapolis  were 
Scythopolis,  Pella,  Dion,  Gerasa,  Philadelphia,  Gadara, 
Raphana,  Kanatha,  Hippos,  and  Damascus  ;  but  other  cities 
were  afterwards  added  to  this  number.  The  importance  of 
Pella  as  a  member  of  the  League  lay  in  its  situation  on  one 
of  the  great  highways  which  traversed  the  region  in  which 
the  Greek  cities  lay.  Scythopolis  (now  called  Beisan)  lay  a 
mile  or  two  west  of  the  Jordan,  just  at  the  point  where  the 
great  road  from  the  sea  coast  divided  into  three  roads,  which 
crossed  the  Jordan  and  intersected  the  trans-Jordanic  Pales¬ 
tine.  On  each  of  these  three  roads  a  member  of  the 
Decapolis  was  situated  ;  Hippos  on  the  northern,  Gadara 
on  the  central,  and  Pella  on  the  southernmost  road. 

These  cities,  having  power  to  acquire  property  in  land, 
soon  governed  a  large  extent  of  territory,  and  the  Decapolis, 
which  Jesus  visited  in  the  course  of  His  missionary  tours, 
was  a  vast  district  lying  partly  in  the  west,  but  mainly  on 
the  east  of  Jordan.  It  has  been  surmised  that  Pella  was 
one  of  the  towns  where  He  taught,  and  that  in  His  last 
journey  down  the  Jordan,  when  He  had  “set  His  face  to 
go  to  Jerusalem,”  He  turned  aside  into  this  city  as  into  a 
place  prepared  by  His  previous  ministrations.  In  this  way 
it  is  sought  to  account  for  the  fact  that  Pella  seemed  to  have 
a  hereditary  sympathy  with  Christianity,  so  that  when 
Jerusalem  was  besieged  by  Rome,  it  was  to  this  place  that 
the  Christians  fled.* 

Similarly  it  has  been  conjectured  that  this  is  the  city 
which  St.  Paul  made  his  place  of  retreat  when  he  “  conferred 
not  with  flesh  and  blood,  neither  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
them  that  were  apostles  before  him,  but  went  away  into 
Arabia,”  for  by  “  Arabia  ”  we  are  perhaps  to  understand 
the  Roman  district  of  that  name  which  would  include  this 
city.f 

*  Merrill,  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  463. 

f  Hausrath,  “Times  of  the  Apostles,”  English  translation,  iii.  p.  73. 
In  the  same  passage  St.  Paul  adds  that  he  afterwards  “returned  unto 


FROM  GADARA  TO  PELLA 


145 


All  this,  however,  is  mere  matter  of  conjecture  ;  the  one 
certain  link  between  Pella  and  the  dawn  of  the  Christian 
faith — the  one  enthralling  fact  which  gave  to  its  venerable 
ruins  an  absorbing  interest  in  our  eyes — was  that  on  two 
occasions  it  became  a  refuge  for  the  “  Brethren  ”  of  Jeru¬ 
salem,  and  that  this,  therefore,  was  almost  the  earliest  home 
of  that  pre-Christian  type  of  Christianity — that  Christianity 
which  existed  before  the  name  “  Christian ”  was  invented 
— the  little  heterodox  Jewish  sect  which  was  the  original 
“  mustard-seed ”  from  which  the  “ great  tree”  sprang. 

Eusebius  says  that  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  by  Titus,  the  Brethren  removed  and  dwelt  at  a 
town  beyond  the  Jordan,  called  Pella,  “  in  accordance  with 
a  certain  oracle  delivered  by  revelation  to  notable  men  on 
the  spot.” 

Seventy  years  later,  after  the  second  Jewish  War  with 
Rome,  Hadrian  excluded  the  Jews  entirely  from  the  Sacred 
City,  and  changed  its  name  to  ^Elia  Capitolina,  and  on  that 
occasion  the  Jewish  Christians,  who  had  returned  to 
Jerusalem,  again  fled  to  Pella.  From  that  time  Jerusalem 
contained  no  Jewish  Christians.  The  Church  there,  under 
their  elder  Marcus,  consisted  only  of  Christians  of  Pagan 
descent,  mingled  perhaps  with  some  Jews  who  had  renounced 
their  nationality.  Pella  became  the  headquarters  of  the 
original  community  of  Christians  ;  there  Christianity  had 
never  been  severed  from  Jewish  custom  and  belief,  and 
there  “a  strictly  Jewish-Christian  Church  maintained  its 
existence  down  to  the  fifth  century.”  * 

What  led  the  Christians  of  Jerusalem  to  select  Pella  in 
particular  for  their  place  of  retreat  is  quite  uncertain.  It 
has  been  conjectured  that  the  inhabitants  of  Pella,  like 
those  of  Sidon,  were  tolerant  enough  to  leave  the  Jews 
unmolested;  or  that,  after  the  occupation  of  Peraea,  in  68  A.D., 
peace  was  established  here,  and  that  this  region  was  there¬ 
fore  practically  beyond  the  area  of  political  commotion  at 
the  time  when  the  Christians  fled  to  it.  Whether  the  true 
explanation  be  of  this  sort ;  or,  whether  there  was  indeed 
some  Christian  nucleus  in  the  place  through  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  or  of  St.  Paul,  as  has  been  suggested  above  ;  or, 
whether  it  was  a  case  of  that  genius  loci ,  unaccountable  but 
quite  real,  which  gives  individuality  to  every  town  and 

Damascus,”  and  the  most  important  city  on  the  road  from  Damascus 
through  Arabia  was  the  rock-fortress  of  Pella. 

*  Neander,  “General  Church  History,”  ii.  p.  13. 

K 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


146 

village  in  the  world,  it  seems  certain  that  for  Christians  of 
Jewish  descent  Pella  had  some  peculiar  attraction. 

One  other  matter  I  must  briefly  refer  to  before  we  look 
round  upon  the  existing  ruins,  and  that  is  the  reference  to 
Pella  in  the  Apocalypse  of  St.  John.  There  can  scarcely  be 
a  doubt  that  Pella  was  that  “  place  prepared  of  God,"  which 
received  the  Church  and  nourished  her  when  she  “  fled 
into  the  wilderness  "  (Rev.  xii.  6).  The  passage  which  de¬ 
scribes  how  “  the  serpent  cast  out  of  his  mouth  after  the 
woman  water  as  a  river  that  he  might  cause  her  to  be  car¬ 
ried  away  by  the  stream,"  vividly  reminds  us  of  the  winter 
rains  and  the  swollen  floods  which  warred  against  the 
Church  when  “  they  that  were  in  Judaea  fled  unto  the 
mountains."  Josephus  has  given  a  terrible  picture  of  a 
fugitive  band  of  Jews  pursued  by  the  Romans,  seeking  in 
vain  along  the  banks  of  the  Jordan  for  some  ford  still  pass¬ 
able  amid  the  winter  floods,  and  driven  by  their  enemies 
into  the  stream  to  perish.  But  “  there  were  given  to  the 
woman  the  two  wings  of  the  great  eagle,  that  she  might  fly 
into  the  wilderness  unto  her  place  where  she  is  nourished." 
This  city  of  Pella  received  and  nourished  the  infant 
Church,  and  for  that,  if  for  no  other  reason,  it  is  for  us  a 
holy  spot.* 

I  confess  that,  until  I  saw  the  ruins  at  Fahil,  I  had  always 
thought  of  Pella  as  a  remote  and  quiet  nook,  a  secret  village 
among  the  mountains.  Most  writers,  indeed,  lay  stress 
upon  its  suitability  as  a  hiding-place  for  the  early  Christians, 
from  its  situation  if  not  from  its  obscurity.  It  could  not, 
however,  have  been  either  secret  or  obscure.  It  is  open  to 
the  Jordan  Valley,  and  its  ruins  are  perfectly  visible  from 
many  places  on  the  western  bank  of  that  river,  notably  from 
the  tell  at  Beisan.  It  was,  moreover,  situated  on  a  prin¬ 
cipal  trade-route,  and  it  could  only  in  a  certain  particular 
sense  be  spoken  of  as  in  “  the  wilderness."  The  Decapods 
was  so  far  from  being  a  “  wilderness  "  in  the  sense  of  being 
uninhabited  or  uncivilised,  that  it  exhibits  even  to-day  the 
most  remarkable  remains  of  Greek  civilisation  which  Pales¬ 
tine  can  show.  Nevertheless,  the  Jew  of  Jerusalem  doubtless 
always  thought  of  the  country  on  the  east  of  Jordan  as  “the 
wilderness."  By  tradition  it  was  Arab  country,  and  the 
splendid  cities  of  the  Greeks  which  were  built  in  Peraea  were, 
after  all,  but  a  fringe  of  civilisation  bordering  the  wild  and 

*  Rev.  xii.  13-17.  See  Hausrath,  “Time  of  the  Apostles,”  iv. 
pp.  252,  253  (Eng.  trans.). 


FROM  GADARA  TO  PELLA 


H  7 

limitless  desert.  In  this  technical  sense  Pella  was  in  the 
“  wilderness ”  ;  but  the  fancy  picture  of  a  hidden  village 
must  certainly  be  corrected  ;  even  in  a.d.  70  it  was  not 
that. 

Some  of  the  ruins  surrounding  our  camp  doubtless  be¬ 
longed  to  later  centuries,  but  the  greater  number  and  the 
most  important  date  from  the  days  of  Greek  commerce  and 
Roman  rule — from  the  lifetime  of  Jesus  and  the  days  of 
Israel’s  doom.  To  these  ruins  and  to  the  general  situation 
of  the  place  it  is  now  time  for  us  to  turn. 

Our  camp  had  accompanied  us  to-day  instead  of  going 
on  ahead,  as  dragoman  and  muleteers  were  alike  ignorant 
of  the  country ;  so,  as  soon  as  we  arrived,  the  men  had  set 
to  work  to  pitch  the  tents.  The  spot  chosen  was  the  highest 
point  available  close  to  the  mud  village  of  Fahil,  for, 
although  an  inviting  valley  lay  below  us  with  a  sparkling 
stream  which  washed  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  Pella,  we 
knew  that  to  camp  in  the  hollow  near  the  marshy  ground 
might  mean  fever,  and  even  the  dusty  threshing-floor  of 
Fahil  was  better  than  that. 

The  modern  village  occupies  what  was  a  sort  of  secondary 
Acropolis  of  Pella,  the  main  Acropolis  being  on  Tell  el-Hosn 
- — the  summit  rising  on  the  south  ;  for  Pella  is  not,  like 
Gadara,  on  the  mountain-heights,  but  mainly  on  a  plateau 
raised  only  a  little  above  the  Jordan  Valley  and  overlooked 
by  high  hills  both  on  the  south  and  north.  It  may, 
however,  be  described  as  relatively  high,  and  it  has  an 
intrenched  position.  On  the  north  there  is  a  depression 
which  is  partly  artificial ;  on  the  east  there  is  also  a  slope, 
though  of  no  great  height ;  on  the  west  is  the  descent  to 
the  lower  level  of  the  Ghor,  and  on  the  south  is  a  very 
steep  decline,  almost  precipitous  in  parts,  which  falls  to 
the  wadi  down  which  runs  the  beautiful  stream  just 
mentioned.  The  whole  platform  is  about  four  or  five  acres 
in  extent. 

Round  about  the  wretched  huts  of  the  villagers  are  strewn 
the  remains  of  some  of  the  principal  buildings  of  the  old 
city.  One  of  these,  which  lies  on  the  west  of  the  village 
looking  away  to  the  Jordan,  has  been  very  fully  described 
by  Schumacher,*  and  is  stated  by  him  to  be  a  Christian 
church  of  uncertain  period,  perhaps  a  Roman  basilica 
transformed  into  a  Christian  meeting-place,  or  perhaps  a 

*  “  Pella,”  1895,  p.  45. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


148 

Crusading  work  added  to  a  previous  Christian  church. 
The  remains  of  another  public  building  lay  eastward  of  our 
camp,  and  is  mentioned  by  Robinson  in  his  u  Later  Biblical 
Researches  "  (p.  321).  He  describes  them  as  those  of  “a 
temple,  or  perhaps  a  church." 

The  ride  from  Mkes  to  Fahil  had  taken  only  five  hours 
and  a  half,  so  that  by  early  afternoon  we  had  refreshed 
ourselves  with  food  and  rest  and  were  ready  to  explore  the 
ruins.  I  asked  the  sheikh  of  the  village  whether  he  knew 
of  any  inscriptions  among  the  scattered  stones,  and  he  took 
me  at  once  to  an  oblong  slab  which  lay  among  the  remains 
last  mentioned.  It  measured  5  ft.  10  in.  by  2  ft.  2  in.  by 
9  in.,  and  bore  the  name  Thomas  in  Greek  letters.  I  spent 
some  time  in  taking  a  squeeze  of  the  inscription,  but  found 
afterwards  that  it  had  been  already  noticed  by  Robinson. 

The  glare  and  heat  of  the  sun  were  so  fierce  that  I  was 
now  fain  to  take  shelter  in  the  tent  till  they  had  somewhat 
abated.  Later  in  the  afternoon  I  ventured  forth  again, 
and,  leaving  the  withered,  dusty  hill,  descended  toward  the 
crystal  stream  which  wandered  in  the  hollow  beneath  us 
(Fig.  38).  This  hollow  is,  in  fact,  a  winding  valley,  though 
from  some  points  of  view  the  folds  of  the  hills  seem  to  shut 
it  in  and  give  it  the  appearance  of  an  enclosed  basin.  The 
name  of  it  is  the  Wadi-el-Jirm,  and  the  spring  which  rises 
in  it  is  the  Jirm  el-Moz.  The  steep  descent  to  it  is  cut  into 
terraces,  parts  of  the  retaining  walls  of  which  remain. 
These  terraces  are  such  a  noticeable  feature  that  it  seems 
more  probable  that  they  gave  rise  to  the  name  of  the  place, 
Tubukat  Fahil  (Terraces  of  Fahil),  than  that  it  was  so  called, 
as  Robinson  supposes,*  because  a  part  of  the  town  was 
built  on  the  terrace  or  plateau  which  overlooks  the  Ghor. 
A  great  part  of  the  houses  of  Pella  seem  to  have  been  built 
upon  these  steps  in  the  hillside.  A  little  to  the  east,  where 
the  slope  is  less  abrupt,  their  ruins  lie  in  orderly  ranks,  row 
above  row,  just  as  they  have  fallen.  Their  general  appear¬ 
ance  at  this  part  may  be  seen  from  the  accompanying 
photograph  (Fig.  37).  The  man  in  the  foreground  is  one 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  village.  Round  about  the  fountain 
which  rises  near  the  foot  of  this  slope  are  hewn  stones  and 
fallen  columns  of  great  size,  in  which  Schumacher  recognised 
the  ruins  of  yet  another  temple  f  (Fig.  39). 

1  searched  among  the  ruins  for  some  time  in  the  hope  of 

*  “  Later  Researches,”  p.  321. 

f  “Pella,”  p.  22. 


FIG.  38. — PELLA  :  THE  WADI  EL-JIRM 


FIG.  39. — PELLA  :  TEMPLE  RUINS 


FROM  GADARA  TO  PELLA 


149 


finding  inscriptions,  but  without  result,  much  to  Hanna’s 
distress,  who  proposed  that  I  should  mount  and  ride  to  the 
ruins  on  the  southern  height,  where  he  thought  there  might 
be  a  better  chance  of  discoveries.  I  was,  however,  too 
exhausted  from  illness,  and  too  weary  from  the  exertion  of 
the  day,  inconsiderable  as  it  was,  for  this  to  be  possible. 
The  ruins  in  question,  which  stand  upon  a  hill  170  feet 
higher  than  Fahil,  are  those  mentioned  above  as  Tell  el- 
Hosn,  and, according  to  Schumacher,  formed  “the  naturally 
protected  Acropolis  of  Fahil,  or  Pella.”  I  regretted  not 
to  be  able  to  explore  them,  and  still  more  to  leave  the 
place  without  penetrating  to  any  of  those  caves  which 
Schumacher  found  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  concerning 
one  of  which  he  says  that  “  it  may  be  accepted  as  beyond 
doubt  that  we  here  have  a  cave  once  inhabited  by  those 
Christian  anchorites  who,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era  and  during  the  Jewish  wars,  found  a  refuge  in  Pella.” 


CHAPTER  XXV 


FROM  PELLA  TO  SCYTHOPOLIS 

We  rather  dreaded  going  down  into  the  Ghor  again,  and 
still  more  did  we  dread  travelling  and  camping  there,  as  we 
must  do  if  we  were  to  carry  out  our  idea  of  following  the 
line  of  the  Last  Journey  and  keeping  to  the  valley  of  the 
Jordan  as  far  as  Jericho.  The  heat  grew  greater  each  day, 
and  worse  than  the  heat  was  the  oppression  occasioned,  I 
suppose,  by  the  great  depth  of  the  valley  below  the  sea, 
which  increased,  of  course,  with  every  hour,  as  we  descended 
towards  the  Dead  Sea.  It  was,  moreover,  not  a  comfortable 
thought  that  we  were  some  days'  ride  from  any  doctor. 

Finally,  we  decided  to  recross  the  Jordan  and  pursue  our 
journey  to  Jerusalem  by  way  of  Beisan  and  Thebez.  Beisan, 
the  Bethshan  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  Scythopolis  of 
Josephus,  was  well  worth  seeing,  and  by  this  route  we 
should  travel  for  the  most  part  over  high  ground,  which 
was  an  important  consideration. 

Of  course,  directly  we  had  made  up  our  minds  to  this 
course,  Hanna  veered  round  and  was  for  continuing  the 
journey  due  southward.  He  had  apparently  lost  by  this 
time  his  timidity  concerning  the  tribes  of  the  Ghor,  and 
declared  himself  to  be  enamoured  of  the  “  beautiful  road  ” 
which  we  had  been  following.  The  temperature,  he 
declared,  was  quite  pleasant,  and,  in  short,  we  should  make 
a  great  mistake  if  we  altered  our  plan.  We  altered  it 
nevertheless,  and  left  Fahil  for  Beisan  at  eight  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  April  3rd,  all  the  camp  travelling  together 
under  the  guidance  of  the  village  sheikh. 

A  dear  old  fellow  that  sheikh  was,  with  a  gentle,  sorrow¬ 
ful  face.  He  had  enough,  no  doubt,  to  make  him  sad,  for 
he  told  us  that  the  drought  had  so  utterly  destroyed  their 
crops  that  the  village  must  be  broken  up.  They  rented 
their  land  from  the  Sultan,  and  the  rent  and  taxes  would 
absorb  all  the  produce  and  more,  and  there  would  be 


FROM  PELLA  TO  SCYTHOPOLIS 


i  Si 

nothing  left  to  eat.  Half  the  people  of  the  village  had 
already  departed,  and  the  rest  were  making  ready  to  go. 

Where  were  they  going  ?  Who  can  say  ?  In  such  cases 
the  families  disperse,  each  travelling  where  it  thinks  to  find 
subsistence  ;  passing  perhaps  to  some  other  district  where 
relatives  may  be  living.  Sometimes  they  even  take  to  a 
wandering  life,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Ta’amireh  tribe  in  the 
south,  who  are  not  true  Bedawin,  but  fellahin  who  have 
reverted  to  the  nomad  state. 

We  dropped  down  the  hill,  with  the  old  sheikh  riding  on 
a  white  horse  at  our  head.  As  soon  as  we  reached  the 
valley  we  turned  northward,  retracing  the  way  by  which  we 
had  come  on  the  previous  day.  After  riding  along  the 
track  in  this  direction  for  half  an  hour,  our  guide  slanted 
off  towards  the  river  across  a  wild  prairie  gay  with  flowers. 
In  the  beds  of  streams  were  oleanders  in  full  flower,  tall 
reeds  and  sedge  and  jointed  canes  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
high.  On  the  open  plain  were  scarlet  poppies,  huge  white 
umbels,  yellow  marigolds,  purple  thistles,  pale  yellow 
scabious,  light  pink  mallows,  hollyhocks  pink  and  some¬ 
times  white,  and  the  whole  expanse  was  dotted  with  green 
mimosa  bushes. 

Across  this  flowery  country  we  rode  for  about  an  hour 
and  a  half  and  then  struck  the  Jordan,  which  we  found 
flowing  rapidly  through  a  dense  thicket  of  large  tamarisk 
trees,  very  different  from  the  puny  bushes  which  wave  their 
feathers  in  our  English  gardens.  For  a  short  distance  we 
followed  up  the  winding  stream,  till  an  opening  in  the 
thicket  showed  us  a  shelving  shore  and  a  broad  channel. 
Our  sheikh,  on  his  white  horse,  quietly  entered  the  water, 
striking  diagonally  down  stream,  in  which  direction,  appa¬ 
rently,  the  shoal  lay.  Hanna  had  tried  to  frighten  us  by 
saying  that  the  ford  would  be  too  deep,  and  that  if  we  got 
across  at  all,  it  would  only  be  by  hiring  camels  for  the 
passage  ;  but  as  we  sat  in  the  saddle  the  water  only  reached 
to  our  ankles. 

There  was  some  difficulty  in  getting  the  donkeys  across, 
but  at  length  they  and  the  mules  with  tents  and  baggage 
were  safely  landed,  and  we  found  ourselves  and  our 
belongings  once  more  in  Western  Palestine.  Just  as  we 
reached  the  bank  a  party  of  Bedawin  came  down  to  cross 
the  ford  from  west  to  east.  There  were  women  with 
them,  and  a  boy  of  twelve.  I  never  saw  a  child  of  that  age 
so  terrified  at  water.  He  struggled  and  wept  and  utterly 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


x52 

refused  to  descend  to  the  shore,  till  one  of  the  men  seized 
him,  flung  him  across  his  shoulder  and  bore  him  through 
the  river  howling  all  the  way.  I  asked  the  name  of  their 
tribe,  and  learned  that  they  were  Ghawarineh.  (Fig.  41). 

The  old  sheikh  now  took  leave  of  us.  He  came  crouch¬ 
ing  toward  me,  fell  upon  his  knees  touching  his  brow  and 
breast,  and  then  seized  my  hand  and  kissed  it.  The 
expression  of  his  eyes  was  most  pathetic  ;  there  was  suffer¬ 
ing  and  fear  induced  by  human  tyranny,  where  naturally 
there  would  have  shone  only  a  gentle  and  affectionate 
spirit.  It  hurt  me  to  have  this  good  old  man  crawling  at 
my  feet. 

Before  we  leave  this  ford  I  must  mention  that  according 
to  the  Survey  Map  it  seems  to  be  the  one  which  Colonel 
Conder  identifies  with  Bethabara  (Fig.  40).  The  whole 
Bethabara  question  we  must  hold  in  suspense  until  we  have 
visited  the  fords  near  Jericho,  only  mentioning  here  that  I 
did  not  find  the  name  Abara,  which  Conder  says  that  he 
heard  here,  used  to  designate  this  ford.  I  asked  the  fellahin 
of  Fahil  what  they  called  it,  and  they  told  me  they  knew  it 
only  by  the  name  “  Makhada,”  while  the  Bedawin  on  both 
banks  told  me  that  their  name  for  it  was  “  Hammud."  Hanna 
could  not  see  what  it  mattered,  since  “  Makhada/'  he  said, 
“means  just  the  same  as  Abara,  your  English  word 
‘ford.'” 

But  whether  or  not  this  was  indeed  the  Bethabara  of 
John  i.  28,  it  was  certainly  at  one  time  a  much-used  passage 
across  the  river,  since  it  lies  on  the  main  route  to  Bethshan 
or  Scythopolis.  Whether  it  was  the  Bethbarah  of 
Judges  vii.  24,  which  the  men  of  Ephraim  were  set  by 
Gideon  to  guard,  seems  as  uncertain  as  whether  it  was  the 
New  Testament  Bethabara,  but  it  was  doubtless  by  this 
ford  that  the  men  of  Jabesh-Gilead  crossed,  when  they  stole 
by  night  to  the  walls  of  Bethshan  and  rescued  thence  the 
headless  bodies  of  Saul  and  his  three  sons  after  the  fatal 
battle  of  Gilboa. 

To  that  city  of  Bethshan  we  now  turned  our  faces.  The 
modern  village  is  still  known  as  Beisan,  the  Greek  name 
Scythopolis  having  dropped  into  oblivion,  and  its  most 
ancient  Hebrew  name,  with  slight  variation,  having,  as  in 
so  many  other  cases,  returned  to  it.  The  path  from  the 
river-bank  soon  struck  the  broad,  well-worn,  and  rather 
dusty  road  which  conducts  the  traveller  to  the  notable 
ruins  and  the  lofty  tell  which  mark  the  historic  site.  A  ride 


FIG.  40. — CONDER’S  “BETHABARA 


FIG.  41.  BEDAVVIN  WOMEN  BY  JORDAN 


FROM  PELLA  TO  SCYTHOPOLIS 


*53 

of  about  an  hour  and  a  half  from  the  Jordan  bank  brought 
us  to  them. 

We  had  been  strongly  advised  to  encamp  on  the  top  of 
the  tell,  but  Hanna  said  this  was  quite  impracticable,  the 
height  and  steepness  were  such  that  no  laden  beast  could 
climb  it,  and  he  bade  us  look  for-  ourselves  if  what  he  said 
was  not  true.  Certainly  it  appeared  so.  The  black  tell 
reared  its  head  from  the  plain  and  frowned  upon  us  with  a 
forbidding  aspect.  The  sides  were  precipitous  and  appeared 
inaccessible.  There  was,  however,  if  we  had  but  known  it, 
a  fairly  easy  ascent  from  a  saddle  on  the  western  side. 
Whether  Hanna  did  not  know,  or  did  not  wish  to  know 
this,  I  cannot  say.  For  my  own  part,  short  as  our  day’s 
ride  had  been,  I  felt  quite  unfit  for  anything  but  to  get  the 
tent  pitched  upon  the  most  easily  accessible  spot  and  throw 
myself  upon  the  bed  to  rest.  The  spot  chosen  was  some¬ 
what  dry  and  dusty,  but  there  was  a  beautiful  orchard  of 
figs  and  pomegranates  near  by,  where  we  could  get  some 
shade. 

We  were  on  a  low  hill  just  outside  the  town,  the  edge  of 
the  great  Plain  of  Jezreel,  which  here  breaks  off  and  drops 
suddenly  by  a  descent  of  three  hundred  feet  to  the  level  of 
the  Ghor.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  bank  of  the  great  river-lake 
which  filled  the  whole  valley  in  the  Pluvial  period. 

To  the  north-east  we  looked  across  a  swampy  valley, 
watered  by  a  stream,  to  the  artificial-looking  tell  behind  it. 
On  the  slope  just  below  our  camp  stood  the  ruins  of  the 
great  theatre.  A  bridge,  a  colonnade,  the  ruins  of  a  street, 
and  other  remains  fill  the  valley.  On  the  saddle  to  the 
west  of  the  tell  are  columns  of  a  temple  and  traces  of  the 
city  wall. 

The  view  from  the  tell  I  did  not  see,  but  from  my 
fellow-travellers  account  it  must  be  fine.  To  the  west  lay 
the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  stretching  away  between  mountain 
ranges  to  the  sea.  To  the  east  lay  the  Jordan  Valley,  with 
its  curious  mounds  hiding  the  river  from  sight,  and  beyond 
it  the  great  range  of  Gilead.  The  setting  sun  shone  full 
upon  the  eastern  hills.  Their  rounded  masses  of  basalt, 
scored  with  deep  hollows,  lay  piled  terrace-wise  higher  and 
higher  to  the  summits,  beyond  which  they  stretch  away 
towards  the  desert.  To  the  north-west  lay  the  slopes  of 
Gilboa,  and  a  little  to  the  east  of  north  was  Hermon,  lined 
with  a  few  remaining  streaks  of  snow. 

At  Beisan  we  are  still  320  feet  below  the  Mediterranean, 


iS4 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


low,  therefore,  in  relation  to  the  country  on  the  west,  though 
high  with  respect  to  the  bed  of  the  Jordan.  The  place  is 
planted,  indeed,  as  already  explained,  on  the  verge  of  a  long 
terrace-slope.  It  is  important,  however,  to  remember  that 
although  this  cliff  running  north  and  south  breaks  the 
surrounding  country  into  two,  there  lies  below  it  a  breadth 
of  plain  stretching  three  miles  or  more  to  the  east,  and 
above  it  there  lies  the  Plain  of  Jezreel  running  westward  for 
a  dozen  miles  or  more  and  then  issuing  in  the  great  battle¬ 
ground  of  Palestine,  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon. 

It  is  this  which  explains  why  the  people  of  Bethshan 
became  famous  for  their  chariots — “  All  the  Canaanites  that 
dwell  in  the  land  of  the  valley  have  chariots  of  iron,  both 
they  who  are  in  Bethshan  and  her  towns,  and  they  who  are 
in  the  Valley  of  Jezreel."  The  flat  country  by  which  they 
were  surrounded  gave  them  opportunity  for  the  use  of  these 
dreaded  chariots.  This  gave  the  people  of  Bethshan  a  great 
advantage  ;  “  Manasseh,”  we  read,  “  did  not  drive  out  the 
inhabitants  of  Bethshan  and  her  towns,  ....  but  the 
Canaanites  would  dwell  in  that  land." 

It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  up  to  the  very  end  Bethshan 
never  became  a  Hebrew  or  a  Jewish  town.  It  retained 
its  Canaanitish  population  long  after  the  Israelitish  occu¬ 
pation  of  Palestine ;  in  Saul's  reign  it  belonged  to  the 
Philistines  :  in  the  days  of  the  Maccabees  it  was  Greek, 
although  there  were  many  Jews  settled  there  ;  and  Josephus 
tells  us  how,  so  late  as  A.D.  65,  the  inhabitants  massacred  all 
the  Jews  within  its  walls. 

In  the  time  of  Christ  it  was  one  of  the  chief  cities  of  the 
Decapolis,  and  was  known  as  Scythopolis.*  Whether  Jesus 
ever  entered  it  we  cannot  tell :  the  probabilities  depend  upon 
the  view  we  take  of  the  scope  of  His  mission.  If  He  con¬ 
fined  that  mission  mainly  to  “  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel/'  it  is  unlikely  that  He  entered  Scythopolis.  No 
pious  Jew  of  His  day  would  voluntarily  enter  so  pagan  a  city. 
Everything  he  saw  would  be  abhorrent,  and  the  very  stones 
of  the  place  would  defile  him.  The  temples,  the  hippodrome, 
and  this  massive  theatre  below  us  were  all  alien  and  sinful  ; 
and  yonder  black  Acropolis,  crowned  by  its  buildings  and 
fortress-wells,  which  stood  like  some  spirit  of  wicked  pride 

*  Possibly  from  a  colony  of  Scythians,  descendants  of  settlers  left 
there  during  the  Scythian  invasion  of  Palestine,  which,  according  to 
Herodotus,  had  taken  place  six  centuries  before.  At  the  present  day, 
the  settlers  in  it  are  said  to  be  of  Egyptian  origin. 


FROM  PELLA  TO  SCYTHOPOLIS 


*55 


frowning  on  the  humble  Jew  as  he  toiled  along  the  sultry 
road  to  Shechem,  must  have  seemed  to  him  like  the  embodi¬ 
ment  of  that  heathen  power  which  overwhelmed  and  op¬ 
pressed  him.  But  whether  Jesus  ever  lingered  there  or  not, 
His  eyes  must  often  have  beheld  its  pagan  grandeur,  for  the 
three  roads  through  Decapolis  gathered  at  this  point  into 
one,  as  we  have  already  seen,  and  the  main  routes  to 
Jerusalem  through  Shechem,  and  to  Egypt  from  Damascus, 
passed  beneath  its  walls,  so  that  most  Jews  would  have 
occasion  at  some  time  in  their  lives  to  pass  along  so  fre¬ 
quented  a  road. 

As  to  the  theatre,  although  it  is  termed  in  Baedeker  an 
u  amphitheatre,”  it  is,  strictly  speaking,  not  correct  to  call 
it  so.  It  is  semicircular,  like  the  theatre  at  Gadara,  with  a 
proscenium  180  feet  in  length.  There  are  six  cunei,  or 
sections,  containing  rows  of  seats  ;  and  the  vomitoria ,  or 
passages  for  entrance  and  exit  of  the  spectators,  are  in  per¬ 
fect  preservation.  The  whole  building  is  very  massive,  and 
is  constructed,  like  everything  else  at  Beisan  except  certain 
marble  pillars,  of  dark  volcanic  basalt. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

FROM  SCYTHOPOLIS,  BY  THEBEZ,  TO  JERUSALEM 

We  struck  our  camp  early  the  next  morning,  and,  turning 
our  back  upon  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city,  passed  through 
the  modern  town.  It  appears  to  be  a  growing  place.  In 
England  we  should  not  consider  it  as  ranking  above  a 
village,  but  as  it  has  perhaps  a  hundred  houses,  many  of 
which  are  built  of  stone,  and  a  regular  street  with  the  houses 
ranged  side  by  side,  instead  of  being  scattered  promiscuously 
after  the  usual  Palestine  fashion,  we  may  perhaps  allow  the 
term  “  town  ”  to  be  used.  On  the  outskirts  of  the  place  a 
troop  of  Turkish  soldiers  were  making  a  road.  They  had 
fitted  up  as  a  roller  the  shaft  of  a  venerable  marble  pillar, 
filched  from  the  old  Greek  ruins, i  and  were  dragging  the 
poor  ancient  to  and  fro  over  the  loose  rubble  of  the  new 
roadway.  There  was  something  rather  painful  in  the  lack 
of  veneration  implied  in  these  proceedings. 

For  a  couple  of  hours  or  so  our  way  lay  along  the  upper 
terrace  of  the  Jordan  Valley.  Once  we  passed  some  small 
plots  of  icultivated  land  through  which  a  little  stream  ran, 
and  here  booths  had  been  erected,  made  of  the  woven  boughs 
of  trees — some  round,  like  those  we  had  already  seen  on  the 
roofs  of  the  houses  at  Baniyas  and  elsewhere,  but  most 
square  with  flat  roofs.  These  are,  doubtless,  the  structures 
which  the  prophet  had  in  mind  when  he  spoke  of  forlorn 
Jerusalem  as  u  left  as  a  booth  in  a  vineyard,  as  a  lodge  in  a 
garden  of  cucumbers/'  They  looked  pretty  enough  on  this 
bright  April  day,  with  the  growing  crop  around  them  ;  but 
when  the  crop  is  gathered,  and  the  watchman  gone,  and  the 
lodge  left  standing  empty  on  the  black  earth,  we  can  see  how 
the  simile  applies. 

Then,  leaving  the  Upper  Ghor,  we  struck  into  the  hills  by 
a  wadi,  the  floor  of  which  was  of  rocks  polished  by  the 
traffic  to  such  a  degree  that  neither  man  nor  horse  could 
without  the  greatest  difficulty  stand  upright  upon  their  glassy 


FROM  SCYTHOPOLIS  TO  JERUSALEM  157 

surface.  We  dismounted  and  led  our  beasts  by  the  bridle, 
proceeding  at  a  snail's  pace,  and  taking  it  in  turn  to  fall 
down.  All  the  four  horses  we  had  with  us — the  dragoman's, 
the  groom's,  and  our  own — fell  more  than  once. 

This  wadi,  which  ran  from  east  to  west,  led  into  another 
running  north  and  south,  and  turning  southward  we  were 
able  at  length  to  pursue  our  way  with  better  speed.  Presently 
Hammad  trotted  forward  to  prepare  a  place  for  our  mid¬ 
day  rest,  and  in  due  course  we  found  ourselves  lying  under 
the  shadow  of  a  spreading  tree,  and  listening  to  the  cry  of 
the  cuckoo. 

This  was  not  the  first  time  in  our  journey  that  we  heard 
that  homely  bird.  I  had  noticed  it  first  at  the  end  of  March 
as  I  was  wandering  along  the  western  shore  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee  ;  it  called  across  the  lake  from  the  eastern  cliffs. 
We  heard  it  again  on  April  2  as  we  rode  down  the  Jordan 
Valley  from  Gadara  to  Pella.  And  now,  on  the  4th  of  the 
month,  its  cry  was  frequent  and  persistent.  This  is  earlier, 
of  course,  than  we  hear  it  in  England,  April  14  being  known 
as  “  cuckoo-day "  in  our  southern  counties.  According  to 
Hanna,  the  Arabs  call  the  bird  “  hud-hud,"  softening  after 
their  usual  fashion  the  explosive  consonants  which  we 
northerners  prefer.  Or,  is  that  what  the  cuckoo  really  says, 
and  is  it  merely  tradition  which  makes  us  Britishers  hear 
the  guttural  in  the  cuckoo's  cry  ? 

It  seems  strange  that  so  noticeable  a  bird  should  not  be 
mentioned  in  the  Bible,*  but  there  are  many  such  silences 
that  are  almost  equally  remarkable.  The  gorgeous  butter¬ 
flies,  for  instance,  which  we  had  seen  in  Galilee  are  never 
once  alluded  to,  nor  the  fire-flies  near  Gennesaret ;  and  there 
are  many  striking  flowers — such  as  the  lupine,  the  hollyhock, 
the  oleander,  and  the  beautiful  scented  mimosa — which  one 
would  have  expected  to  meet  with  somewhere  in  the  course 
of  the  Scriptures ;  though  it  must  be  admitted,  no  doubt, 
that  much  uncertainty  lingers  round  the  names  of  Scripture 
plants,  and  that  the  mimosa,  for  instance,  may  possibly  be 
represented  by  one  of  the  many  Bible  words  for  “thorns." 

We  reached  our  camp  at  Tubas  after  a  four  hours'  ride. 
The  name  answers  to  the  Scripture  Thebez,  and  the  situation 
tallies  with  that  of  Thebez  as  given  by  Eusebius  and  Jerome. 
In  modern  times  it  was  first  identified  in  1838,  when  Robin¬ 
son  and  Smith  visited  it,  and  described  it  in  their  “  Biblical 

*  The  word  rendered  “  cuckoo”  in  Lev.  xi.  16 and  Deut.  xiv.  15  (A.V.) 
is  given  as  “  sea-mew  ”  in  the  Revised  Version. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


158 

Researches."*  Tourists  do  not  often  come  here,  and,  in¬ 
deed,  beyond  the  beauty  of  the  situation,  there  is  little 
enough  to  see. 

The  modern  village,  like  the  ancient  town,  is  built  on  the 
slope  of  a  hill,  with  a  fine  plain  before  it,  better  wooded  than 
most  of  the  plains  in  this  part  of  Palestine.  Mount  Gerizim 
can  be  seen  from  it,  Nablus  being,  indeed,  only  ten  or  twelve 
miles  distant. 

This  reminds  us  that  Thebez  is  linked  with  Shechem  in 
that  weird  story  of  Abimelech,  the  son  of  Gideon,  killing  his 
seventy  brothers,  and  seizing  upon  the  government  in 
Shechem.  And  it  fits  the  continuation  of  the  story,  which 
tells  how  three  years  afterwards  Abimelech  marched  to  this 
city  of  Thebez,  which  had  made  common  cause  with  the 
Shechemites,  and  how  he  met  his  death  here  ;  for  “  Abime¬ 
lech  came  unto  the  tower,  and  fought  against  it,  and  went 
hard  unto  the  door  of  the  tower  to  burn  it  with  fire  ;  and  a 
certain  woman  cast  an  upper  millstone  upon  Abimelech's 
head,  and  brake  his  skull."  i 

I  told  this  story  to  Hanna,  to  whom  it  was  new.  He  was 
greatly  impressed,  especially  with  the  “  cleverness  ”  of  the 
woman  who  dropped  the  millstone. 

As  to  the  village  itself,  there  is  little  that  is  ancient  about 
it.  It  consists  mainly  of  the  usual  mud-built  houses,  nor 
could  I  see  any  traces  of  ruins.  There  are  mounds,  however, 
round  about  the  village,  which  may  perhaps  contain  relics 
of  the  ancient  city.  The  village  is  said  to  be  well-to-do. 
Formerly  it  paid  a  heavy  bribe  to  escape  the  conscription  ; 
whether  it  does  so  still,  I  do  not  know  ;  but  certainly  there 
seemed  to  be  more  well-clad  men  about  than  in  most 
of  the  villages  which  we  had  visited.  I  watched  them  in 
the  evening  driving  home  their  cattle,  and  the  women  carry¬ 
ing  home  great  bundles  of  leafy  firewood,  which  is  here 
comparatively  abundant.!  (Figs.  42,  43.) 

Up  to  five-and-twenty  years  ago,  and  perhaps  later, 
Thebez  constantly  suffered  from  incursions  of  the  Eastern 
Bedawin.  A  glance  at  the  map  shows  the  reason  for  this, 
for  it  lies  almost  in  the  line  of  that  notable  cleft  in  the 

*  Vol.  iii.  (1841)  p.  158. 

f  James  Finn,  at  one  time  British  consul  in  Jerusalem,  mentions,  in 
his  “  Byeways  of  Palestine,”  that  “  the  natural  soil  here  is  so  fertile 
that  its  wheat  and  its  oil,  together  with  those  of  Hanoon,  fetch  the 
highest  prices  in  towns,  and  the  grain  is  particularly  sought  after  as 
seed  for  other  districts.” 


FIG.  43.  THEBE/.  :  DRIVING  HOME  THE  CATTLE 


FROM  SCYTHOPOLIS  TO  JERUSALEM  159 

mountain-mass,  which  extends  down  the  Jabbok  on  the  east 
of  Jordan,  and  up  the  Wadi  Fara  on  the  west.  It  is  pro¬ 
bable,  indeed,  that  those  wild  and  very  ancient  Bedawin, 
the  tribes  of  Israel,  passed  into  the  land  of  Canaan  by  this 
very  route,  crossing  the  Jordan  by  the  Ford  of  Damieh, 
when  they  took  possession  of  the  Shechem  Valley,  the  earliest 
of  Israel's  settlements.* 

At  Tubas  we  were  but  fourteen  hours  from  Jerusalem, 
and  it  was  now  the  Thursday  before  the  Latin  Easter  ;  so, 
as  our  men  much  desired  to  spend  the  feast  in  the  Holy 
City,  we  resolved  to  ride  seven  hours  on  each  of  the  next 
two  days,  that  we  might  reach  our  journey's  end  by  Saturday 
night. 

Our  southward  way  was  through  scenery  which  was  often 
wild  and  grand.  We  passed  Ain  el-Fara,  which  has  been 
identified  by  some  with  ^Enon,  though  it  is  about  five  miles 
from  Salim,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  Salem  to  which 
^Enon  was  “near."  Then  we  climbed  the  high  slopes  of 
Ebal,  whence  we  looked  down  into  the  noble  valley  between 
that  mountain  and  the  opposing  height  of  Neby  Belan. 
From  this  mountain  road  we  came  down  close  to  Askar, 
which  may  well  be  the  Sychar  of  the  New  Testament  and 
the  Talmud.  The  Fountain  of  Sychar  which  the  Talmud 
mentions  is  a  very  fine  spring  in  the  middle  of  the  village, 
used  by  all  the  inhabitants.  We  crossed  the  Sahil  el-Askar, 
which  is  doubtless  the  Plain  of  Sychar  also  mentioned  in 
the  Talmud,  and  so  arrived  for  the  second  time  at  Jacob's 
Well. 

Thence  we  pursued  the  road,  which  in  the  reverse  direc¬ 
tion  we  had  already  travelled,  across  the  green  Plain  of 
Makhnah,  past  our  old  camping-ground  at  Huwara,  where 
the  children  rushed  out  upon  us  noisily  demanding  bakh¬ 
shish  ;  thence  again  to  el-Lubban,  which  has  been  already 
described,  arriving  soon  afterwards  at  Sinjil,  where  our  camp 
was  perched. 

Nothing  new  occurred  by  the  way  except  that  a  fellah 
who  was  travelling  southwards  on  foot  sought  our  protec¬ 
tion.  He  explained  that  he  had  enemies  in  that  district, 
who  would  attack  and  kill  him  if  they  found  him  alone. 
So  for  several  miles  he  walked  beside  our  horses,  a  living 
reminder  that  the  ancient  custom  of  the  blood-feud  still 
remains  in  force  in  this  barbarous  country. 

*  See  “  Encycl.  Bibl.,”  arts.  “  Israel  ”  and  “Jericho.” 


i6o  TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 

Sinjil,*  where  we  slept  that  night,  lies  high,  and  the  air 
was  cold  and  bracing.  Its  huts  are  surrounded  by  vines 
and  fig-trees  and  by  well  tilled  fields.  The  men  of  the 
village  seemed  lively  and  well-to-do  as  they  sat  in  a  circle 
near  our  tents  engaged  in  eager  talk.  We  had  missed  this 
place  on  our  northward  journey  by  reason  of  the  detour 
which  we  had  made  to  visit  Shiloh.  The  junction  with  the 
path  to  the  latter  place  was  passed  soon  after  we  started 
next  morning,  and  from  this  point  onwards  our  road  was 
identical  with  that  which  we  had  travelled  in  leaving 
Jerusalem  four  weeks  before.  It  took  us  past  Bethel, 
Beeroth,  Ramah,  Gibeah  of  Benjamin,  and  Shafat,  and  so 
along  the  weary  length  of  newly-made  road  and  over 
Scopus  into  Jerusalem.  I  fear  that  the  joy  of  a  safe  return 
and  the  relief  of  knowing  that  now  one  could  have  a  day's 
rest,  needful  physic,  and  suitable  diet,  caused  me  to  act  in 
a  most  undignified  manner,  for  no  sooner  had  we  dis¬ 
mounted  at  the  hotel  door  than  seizing  Hanna’s  hand  in 
the  open  street  I  shook  it  warmly,  to  his  unmeasured 
amazement. 

*  Sinjil  is  a  corruption  of  St.  Giles,  “  one  of  the  few  names,”  says 
Professor  G.  A.  Smith,  “  which  the  Crusaders  stamped  on  the  land,” 
for  here  was  “  a  castle  or  manor  of  the  Order  of  St.  John,  presented  to 
them  by  a  Robert  of  St.  Giles.” 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

JERUSALEM— CALVARY  AND  THE  TOMB 

At  last  a  day  on  which  to  stretch  one's  legs,  a  day  with 
no  packing  or  unpacking,  no  weary  stiffening  of  one's 
back,  a  day  for  resting  and  strolling  !  Oh,  the  comfort  of 
standing  upon  your  own  feet  !  It  was  April  7  and  Easter 
Sunday  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Latin  Easter.  For,  as  with 
the  holy  sites  so  with  the  holy  seasons:  everything  in 
Palestine  is  duplicated.  You  not  only  take  your  choice 
between  the  Latin  Gethsemane  and  the  Greek  Gethsemane, 
but  also  between  the  Latin  Easter  and  the  Greek  Easter. 
The  Greek  Church  keep  to  the  old  style,  and  their  Easter 
Day  will  arrive  a  week  later  than  that  which  is  reckoned  by 
the  Gregorian  Calendar. 

Meanwhile,  here  was  our  own  Easter  morning,  somewhat 
grey  and  chill,  more  like  our  home  weather  than  the 
scorching  heat  and  blinding  glare  which  these  Eastern 
skies  had  hitherto  poured  down  upon  us.  It  seemed  fitting 
to-day  to  visit  the  tomb  which  we  believed  to  have  upon 
the  whole  the  best  claim  to  be  associated  with  the  Resur¬ 
rection  story — the  sepulchre  cut  in  the  face  of  that  cliff 
which  adjoins  what  is  known  as  “  Gordon's"  Calvary.* 

After  breakfast,  therefore,  we  strolled  to  the  north  of 
the  city,  passed  through  the  Damascus  Gate,  and  crossing 
the  broad  road  which  runs  parallel  with  the  northern 
defences,  found  ourselves  presently  opposite  to  the  far- 
famed  hill  or  knoll  which  surmounts  the  ancient  quarry 
known  as  Jeremiah's  Grotto.  “Gordon's"  Calvary  and 
“  Gordon's  "  Sepulchre  are  named  after  the  famous  General 
Gordon,  because  these  were  the  sites  he  favoured  as  the 
scenes  of  the  Gospel  tragedy ;  although  Conder  pointed 

*  Subsequent  reading  has  led  me  to  be  more  doubtful  about  this  site 
than  I  was  at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  it.  The  whole  subject  of  Calvary 
and  Sepulchre  has  been  exhaustively  treated  by  the  late  Sir  Charles 
Wilson  in  his  posthumous  work,  “  Golgotha.” 


L 


162 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


out  this  knoll  as  the  probable  site  of  the  Crucifixion  long 
before  it  was  adopted  by  Gordon,  and  the  tomb  was  visited 
by  both  Conder  and  Schick  at  the  time  of  its  excavation, 
in  1873,  ten  years  before  Gordon  set  eyes  upon  it. 

It  was  not  without  a  thrill  that  I  stood  before  that  ancient 
scarp  and  raised  my  eyes  to  the  summit  of  the  little  hill 
upon  which,  as  I  believed,  the  Cross  of  Christ  had  been 
planted.  It  would  not  be  true  to  say  that  I  had  no  linger¬ 
ing  doubts  ;  in  fact,  the  uncertainty  attaching  to  nearly  all 
the  sacred  sites  is  the  most  distressing  element  in  Palestine 
travel. 

However,  here  was  the  knoll,  and  here  was  the  cliff  with 
its  tomb,  and  it  was  open  to  us  at  any  rate  to  get  a  better 
understanding  of  the  arguments  “for”  and  “against” 
advanced  by  the  champions  of  the  rival  theories  through 
an  examination  of  the  spot  itself.  Our  Easter  visit  to  the 
tomb  we  reserved  till  we  had  first  considered  the  Calvary. 

The  “  Mount  ”  is  not,  as  I  had  imagined  it,  a  semi- 
spherical  elevation,  giving  one  a  representation  of  the 
crown  of  a  skull.  The  top  of  it  is  but  very  slightly  rounded, 
and  that  only  at  one  point  in  the  ridge.  Sir  Charles 
Wilson  says,  indeed,  that  this  rounded  surface  is  only  the 
effect  of  accumulated  rubbish,  and  that  the  rock  bed  is 
flat.  However  that  may  be,  the  name  Golgotha  could 
never  have  been  derived  from  the  form  of  the  hill,  if  this 
is  the  hill  so  named.  General  Gordon’s  fantastic  notion 
that  the  skull  is  to  be  found  not  in  the  shape  of  the  hill, 
nor  in  any  other  appearance  visible  to  the  passer-by,  but 
in  the  ground-plan  or  bird's-eye  view  of  the  hill  itself  may 
surely  be  disregarded.  The  hill  could  never  have  been 
named  by  cartographers.  The  name,  whencesoever  derived, 
was  certainly  given,  as  nearly  all  such  place  names  are  given, 
by  the  peasant  population,  or  by  the  Jerusalem  man-in-the- 
street. 

Keeping  to  this  idea  we  looked  next  for  the  skull-like 
face  said  to  be  visible  on  the  cliff  front.  The  morning 
being,  as  I  have  said,  grey  and  cloudy,  there  were  no  deep 
shadows  in  the  caves  and  fissures  of  the  precipice  to  help 
the  illusion  ;  and  I  am  fain  to  confess  that  at  first  I  failed  to 
see  the  death's-head  before  me.  But  my  companion,  being 
of  a  more  perceptive  nature,  immediately  pointed  it  out;  and 
it  is  certain  that  the  gigantic  face  of  Death  once  seen  can 
never  again  be  miSvSed,  it  catches  the  eye  every  time  the 
place  is  passed. 


fig.  44. — '•  Gordon's”  calvary 


FIG.  45. — “GORDON’S”  SEPULCHRE 


JERUSALEM— CALVARY  AND  THE  TOMB  163 

There  is  something  grimly  fascinating  in  the  notion  that 
this  is  indeed  the  “  Gulgolta  ”  or  skull  from  which  the 
populace  had  named  the  place  ;  and  one  awaits  with 
impatience  further  evidence  as  to  the  history  of  this  cliff, 
how  and  when  through  this  rocky  spur  of  the  upland  the 
great  cutting  was  made  which  produced  this  broken  surface 
and  separated  it  by  so  wide  a  gap  from  the  city  wall.  Was 
it  made  prior  to  the  Crucifixion,  and  did  it  bear  the  same 
appearance  then  as  now  ?  *  One  is  even  inclined  to  say 
that  wherever  the  true  Calvary  is  situated,  it  must  have  been 
some  such  deathly  apparition  which  suggested  its  designa¬ 
tion  ;  the  theory  is  so  simple  and  does  away  at  a  stroke 
with  the  many  far-fetched  guesses  as  to  the  origin  and 
meaning  of  the  name. 

A  broad  road  runs  between  the  cliff  and  the  wall  of  the 
city  ;  and  between  the  road  and  the  cliff  there  are  gardens. 
Skirting  the  gardens  we  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  little  hill. 
The  ascent  is  easy,  for  the  hill  is  broken  only  on  the  one 
side,  that  which  faces  the  city  ;  on  the  other  sides  the  slope 
is  gradual.  In  fact,  the  place  is  perfectly  adapted  for  such 
a  spectacle  as  that  of  the  Crucifixion.  It  is  the  one  obvious 
spot  to  which  the  procession  leaving  Antonia  and  issuing 
from  the  northern  gate  would  wend  its  way.  Here,  as  if 
made  for  the  purpose,  was  a  little  hill  set  right  opposite  to 
the  city,  and  separated  from  the  new  suburb  of  Bezetha  by 
600  or  700  feet ;  so  that  women  and  quiet  citizens,  who  did 
not  care  to  mingle  with  the  rough  mob  that  thronged  the 
plain  below  the  knoll,  or  crowded  up  its  sides,  could  stand 
upon  the  house-tops  in  Bezetha  and  view  the  tragedy 
“  from  afar." 

And  this  would  be  possible,  even  if  the  execution  was 
carried  out  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  and  not  upon  its  summit. 
For,  in  trying  to  reconstruct  the  scene,  we  have  to  remember 
that  it  is  not  certain  that  the  Crucifixion  took  place  upon  a 
hill.  We  speak  always  of  Mount  Calvary,  but  we  have  in 
fact  no  Scripture  authority  for  describing  Calvary  as  a 
u  Mount."  The  “  Monticulus  ”  from  which  our  il  Mount  " 
Calvary  is  derived  was  artificially  produced  by  cutting  away 
the  rock  round  the  traditional  or  ecclesiastically-sanctioned 
tomb  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  the  Crucifixion  took  place  not 

*  Such  evidence  as  exists  has  now  been  set  forth  in  the  late  Sir 
Charles  Wilson’s  posthumous  work,  “Golgotha,”  referred  to  above. 
It  points  strongly  to  the  “  skull”  on  the  cliff  being  of  later  date  than 
the  Crucifixion. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


164 

upon  a  “mount”  at  all,  but  on  some  level  space  below  the 
walls  or  house-tops.  Quite  apart,  however,  from  the  evidence 
or  want  of  evidence  furnished  by  tradition,  the  probabilities 
would  seem  to  be  in  favour  of  such  an  elevation  as  this 
upon  which  we  stood.  Our  own  islands  furnish  many 
instances  of  the  “  Gallows  Hill,”  and  it  is  plain  that  con¬ 
venience  would  dictate  the  use,  whether  in  East  or  West,  of 
carrying  out  executions  on  some  hillock  or  platform  which 
would  more  or  less  completely  isolate  the  operators  and  the 
guards  from  the  encumbering  mass  of  spectators.  On  the 
whole  the  general  appearance  and  surroundings  of  this  place 
tend  to  conviction. 

Descending  now  from  the  rocky  platform  to  the  level  of 
the  plain  below  it,  we  paid  our  Easter  visit  to  the  Tomb. 
To  discuss  the  historical  evidence  for  the  Resurrection,  or 
the  spiritual  evidence  for  that  greater  truth  which  it 
symbolises,  would  be  out  of  place  here :  our  Easter 
meditations  may  be  left  unrecorded.  We  are  concerned 
only  with  the  question  which  hung  upon  our  lips  as  we 
approached  the  Sepulchre  :  Was  this  in  truth  the  tomb 
“hewn  out  of  a  rock”  in  which  they  laid  our  Lord?  If 
only  that  question  could  be  answered  !  One  longs  to 
believe  in  it,  for  the  spot  is  a  fitting  one,  and  it  answers  in 
many  respects  to  the  story. 

Having  paid  our  little  fee  and  passed  through  the  door  in 
the  enclosing  wall,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  garden.  It  is 
shaded  by  pomegranates  and  fig-trees  ;  brightly  coloured 
poppies  and  sweet-scented  stocks  grow  in  luxuriant  con¬ 
fusion  ;  and  in  the  crevices  of  the  rock-face  in  which  the 
sepulchre  is  hewn  tufts  of  furry  borage  have  taken  root. 
The  custodian  tells  us  that  this  is  “  the  hyssop  that  springeth 
out  of  the  wall,”  but  Canon  Tristram  identifies  that  scriptural 
plant  with  the  caper.* 

In  the  garden  there  is  a  tomb,  and  at  the  threshold  of  the 
tomb  is  a  long  groove,  in  which,  so  it  is  said,  the  circular 
stone  rolled  to  and  fro  to  close  and  unclose  the  door.  “  He 
rolled  a  stone  against  the  door  of  the  tomb.”  Certain  it  is 
that  such  rolling  stones  were  in  use  at  the  beginning  of  our 
era,  and  that  this  groove  is  of  the  precise  width  of  that  of 

5"!  The  plant  which  hangs  in  tufts  from  the  rock-face  at  the  Sepulchre 
is,  to  be  precise,  the  Alkanna  orientalis,  a  plant  allied  to  the  borage. 
The  caper  grows  in  the  crevices  of  the  Har&m  wall.  Dr.  Post  believes 
that  the  hyssop  was  an  Origanum. 


JERUSALEM— CALVARY  AND  THE  TOMB  165 

the  u  Tombs  of  the  Kings  ”  in  which  the  stone  itself  is  still 
to  be  seen. 

Passing  through  the  narrow  doorway,  we  stand  in  a  low 
flat-roofed  chamber  hewn  in  the  solid  rock.  To  the  right 
and  the  left  of  the  short  passage  which  bisects  it  are  two 
loculi  or  trough-like  receptacles  for  dead  bodies.  The  one 
on  the  left  is  indicated  as  that  in  which  the  body  of  Christ 
was  probably  laid  (Fig.  45). 

Our  guide  points  to  the  chisel-marks  upon  the  left-hand 
wall  and  maintains  that  they  show  this  wall  to  have  been 
unfinished,  proving  that  this  was  a  “  new  ”  tomb,  as  the 
Arimathean  Joseph's  is  recorded  to  have  been.  He  also 
points  to  marks  of  places  where  wooden  wedges  were 
inserted  which  when  wetted  expanded  and  split  the  rock — 
the  ancient  method  of  blasting. 

In  spite,  however,  of  all  that  one  sees  and  all  that  is  said, 
we  cannot  feel  any  high  degree  of  assurance  that  this  is 
indeed  the  tomb  of  the  Arimathean  Jew.  One  is  haunted 
by  the  knowledge  that  this  was  for  long  years  a  Christian 
tomb,  that  Crusading  folk  were  buried  here,  that  crosses 
were  painted  on  the  walls  of  it ;  and  by  the  recollection 
that  the  whole  weight  of  the  Sepulchre-theory  hangs  by  so 
slender  a  thread  as  the  suspicion  or  belief  that,  though  at. 
one  time  Christian  and  containing  Christian  additions  and 
alterations,  it  was  enlarged  from  a  smaller  tomb  of  Jewish 
origin.  These  matters,  however,  must  be  studied  hereafter  ; 
the  morning  has  been  wearing  on,  and  it  is  time  for  us  to 
return  to  our  hostelry.  A  visit  to  an  alternative  Sepulchre, 
known  as  “Conder's,"  is  recorded  in  a  later  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

AN  EXCURSION  TO  JERICHO 

The  next  day  the  sun  showed  himself  again,  though  the  air 
was  still  somewhat  sharp.  We  left  Jerusalem  at  two  o’clock 
for  an  excursion  to  Jericho,  where  we  were  to  spend  a  clear 
day,  staying  at  the  Jordan  Hotel  for  two  nights.  It  is  a  five 
hours’  drive  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  nearly  the  whole 
journey  being  a  precipitous  descent.  Our  dragoman  Hanna, 
who  had  now  discarded  the  keffiyeh  and  agal,  and  wore  the 
simple  scarlet  tarbush,  sat  beside  the  driver,  and  we  had  as 
an  outrider  a  mounted  Bedawi,  whom  Hanna  had  engaged 
the  day  before. 

The  mode  of  engaging  an  Arab  escort  is  peculiar.  It  is 
done  through  the  “  Sheikh  of  the  Escorts,”  who  resides  in 
Jerusalem.  Hanna  had  met  him  on  the  previous  day  as  we 
were  walking  in  the  street  :  a  tall,  spare  man,  more  impos¬ 
ing  than  the  average  Bedawi,  who  is  rather  short  and  small- 
made.  Payment  (which  is  virtually  blackmail)  is  made  to 
the  sheikh,  and  you  are  then  provided  with  a  man  of  his 
tribe  to  accompany  you,  and  are  immune  from  robbery. 
How  far  there  is  really  danger  of  robbery  by  a  road  which 
is  now  so  much  frequented  I  do  not  know,  but  I  imagine  it 
might  still  be  unsafe  for  a  European  to  wander  unguarded 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jericho. 

The  escort  provided  by  the  sheikh  was  the  best  specimen 
of  the  true  Bedawi  whom  I  had  seen.  He  was  dressed  in 
a  black  aba  and  white  keffiyeh,  and  was  superbly  mounted. 
He  liked  to  show  off  his  horse  and  his  riding.  Every  now 
and  then  he  would  dart  away  from  our  side,  gallop  his 
horse  furiously  over  a  stretch  of  loose  stony  ground,  plunge 
into  some  gully  or  behind  some  hill,  and  presently  reappear 
at  some  unexpected  point,  or  show  himself  like  an  eques¬ 
trian  statue  on  some  lofty  rock,  with  the  dainty  limbs  of  his 
glossy  steed  sharply  outlined  against  the  sky. 

Our  carriage  followed  behind  a  long  procession  of  other 


AN  EXCURSION  TO  JERICHO  167 

vehicles  which  were  taking  a  party  to  visit  the  shores  of  the 
Dead  Sea.  Just  outside  Jerusalem,  on  the  south  slope  of 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  we  passed  the  slaughter-house.  The 
filthy  smell  of  the  place  had  attracted  a  host  of  vultures, 
who  wheeled  round  and  round  it  in  a  slowly-revolving, 
never-pausing  circle,  like  unclean  souls  of  some  Inferno. 
It  reminded  us  forcibly  of  the  words  spoken  of  this  very 
city  :  “  Where  the  carcase  is  there  will  the  eagles  be 
gathered  together.” 

Rounding  this  spur,  we  passed  Bethany,  which  is  just  over 
the  brow.  The  hill  was  parched  and  brown,  the  roads 
dusty  and  the  village  dirty  ;  the  poetry  for  the  moment 
seemed  wanting.  The  one  touch  of  romance  came  from 
the  ruined  tower  in  the  middle  of  the  village,  crowning  it 
and  giving  to  it  some  approach  to  dignity.  This  castle  is 
said  to  belong  to  a  time  earlier  than  that  of  the  Crusades, 
though  its  real  age  and  purpose  are,  I  believe,  unknown. 

After  Bethany  there  is  another  slight  ascent,  and  then  our 
road  drops  rapidly,  and  we  begin  that  wonderful  descent  of 
about  3,400  feet  to  that  terrace  above  the  Jordan  bed  upon 
which  Jericho  is  built.  Hour  after  hour  down  this  steep 
mountain-side  we  descend  till  it  seems  as  though  we  must 
be  descending  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  And  so 
in  a  sense  we  are,  for  by  the  time  we  reach  Jericho  we 
shall  be  some  900  feet  below  sea-level,  and  those  who  go 
a  little  further  and  reach  the  Dead  Sea  shore  will  be  no 
less  than  1300  feet  below  the  Mediterranean,  and  will 
stand  upon  the  lowest  dry  land  on  the  surface  of  this 
globe. 

The  drive  is  dreary  and  monotonous,  through  a  sea  of 
land-waves,  parched  and  brown,  stony,  round-topped  feature¬ 
less  hills.  The  whole  landscape  is  redeemed  from  utter 
barrenness  only  by  a  few  patches  of  green  corn,  where  a 
little  arable  earth  has  here  and  there  accumulated.  Down 
the  sides  of  these  desolate  limestone  moors  the  road  zig-zags 
mile  after  mile,  our  carriage  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  dust, 
and  the  heat  and  closeness  increasing  with  every  league  of 
our  descent.  The  loneliness  and  desolation  of  the  sur¬ 
rounding  wilderness,  whose  stony  undulating  mass  is  inter¬ 
sected  by  a  network  of  deep  valleys  sufficient  to  afford  cover 
for  a  score  of  armies,  helps  us  to  realise  why  this  was  of  old 
time  a  robber-country,  and  why  Jesus  located  here  that 
immortal  parable  concerning  one  who  was  “  going  down 
from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho”  and  fell  among  thieves. 


i68 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Half  way  to  Jericho  stands  a  khan,  which  tradition,  turning 
parable  into  history,  associates  with  that  same  story  of  the 
Good  Samaritan  ;  and  here  we  lingered,  while  our  dragoman, 
our  driver,  and  our  escort  refreshed  themselves  and  their 
beasts  before  conducting  us  on  our  final  plunge  towards  the 
Ghor. 

Resuming  our  journey,  we  found  the  hill  still  barren  and 
forbidding,  but  with  a  gap  now  opening  out  before  us, 
across  which  was  stretched  the  distant  range  of  Moab, 
standing  like  some  Titan's  wall  across  our  way  and  lit  up 
now  by  the  sun  which  was  slowly  falling  behind  us.  In 
about  an  hour  after  leaving  the  khan  the  carriage  stopped, 
and  we  were  invited  to  dismount  and  climb  the  bank  on  the 
left  of  the  road.  We  did  so,  and  saw  one  of  the  grandest 
sights  of  Palestine.  All  unknown  to  ourselves  we  had  been 
skirting  the  southern  side  of  the  Wadi  el-Kelt,  and  here  we 
touched  a  point  where  we  could  look  down  into  that  mighty 
rent  in  the  limestone  range.  “  Few  mountain  gorges  in 
Western  lands,"  says  Canon  Cheyne,  “  can  compare  with  it. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  stupendous  chasms  in  the  1  ancient 
mountains/  so  narrow  that  one  can  hardly  measure  twenty 
yards  across  the  bottom,  so  deep  that  one  can  only  just  see 
the  slender  torrent  stream  which  winds  along  amidst  caves 
and  rank  rushes  to  the  Jordan."  Canon  Tristram  regrets 
that  it  could  not  be  identified  with  the  brook  Cherith  of 
Elijah,  especially  as  he  took  two  ravens’  nests  with  eggs 
there.  Ravens  or  no  ravens,  I  could  not  but  echo  that 
regret.  The  place  would  form  such  a  grand  setting  for  that 
ancient  drama  :  its  wild  stern  grandeur  be  so  exceedingly 
appropriate  to  the  grim  old  prophet  of  Jehovah.  Truly  the 
march  of  knowledge  is  sometimes  very  exasperating,  and 
one  is  half  inclined  to  throw  truth  overboard  and  to  shift 
the  scene  to  suit  the  story  ! 

Those,  however,  who  remain  obstinately  determined  to 
set  the  story  in  its  actual  scene  will  have  to  seek  their  brook 
Cherith  somewhere  in  Gilead  on  the  further  side  of  the 
Jordan  Valley  ;  perhaps,  as  Canon  Cheyne  suggests,  in  the 
Wadi  Ruhaibeh.  This,  at  least,  is  what  they  must  do  if  they 
accept  the  reading  which  that  scholar  gives  of  the  word  of 
the  Lord  which  came  to  Elijah  :  “  Get  thee  hence  from 
Samaria  and  turn  to  the  east  and  hide  thyself  in  the  torrent- 
valley  of  Cherith  which  is  to  the  east  of  Jordan."  * 

What,  then,  is  this  wild  chasm  into  whose  depth  we  are 
*  See  “  Encycl.  Bibl.,”  art.  “  Cherith.” 


AN  EXCURSION  TO  JERICHO  169 

now  gazing  ?  If  we  divorce  it  from  the  Elijah  tradition,  is 
there  any  other  historical  event  which  we  may  associate 
with  it  in  our  minds  ?  It  is  in  all  probability  the  Valley  of 
Zeboim  mentioned  in  that  grim  story  of  Samuel,  when  Saul 
took  upon  himself  to  offer  sacrifice  because  the  prophet 
delayed  his  coming,  and  when  he  started  upon  his  expedition 
without  the  prophetic  sanction.  Into  this  depth  one  of  the 
bands  of  Philistine  spoilers  is  represented  as  looking  down 
as  they  skirted  it  in  their  march,  just  as  we  are  looking  now. 

And  there  is  a  later  interest.  For,  those  treeless  crags 
are  pierced  with  caves  which  in  early  Christian  days  were 
inhabited  by  anchorites.  I  suppose  they  felt  (as  who  would 
not  ?)  that  the  scene  echoed  in  some  way  the  tragedy  of  the 
soul.  Some  such  feeling,  perhaps,  led  the  Greek  monks  of 
a  later  time  to  build  yonder  monastery  so  strangely  perched 
on  one  of  the  rocky  ledges  which  break  the  face  of  the 
precipice  which  fronts  us.  Or  perhaps  they  hoped  for 
cleansing  from  the  water  of  the  brook  which  comes  down 
the  length  of  the  valley — the  sacred  brook  of  Elijah,  as  they 
deemed  it,  and  as  it  is  still  believed  to  be  by  the  monks  who 
live  there  to-day. 

We  returned  to  our  carriage,  and  soon  afterwards  had 
glimpses  of  the  Jordan  Valley  and  the  upper  end  of  the  Dead 
Sea.  In  another  hour  we  were  in  full  view  of  the  Plain  of 
Jericho,  with  the  course  of  the  Jordan  and  a  large  stretch  of 
the  Dead  Sea  clearly  visible.  The  aspect  of  the  plain  was 
disappointing.  The  traditional  luxuriance  seemed  wholly 
wanting.  Where,  then,  were  the  groves  of  palm,  the  tangled 
masses  of  flowering  shrubs,  the  balsam  gardens,  the  spark¬ 
ling  streams,  the  tropical  glory  of  this  far-famed  spot  ? 
What  we  seemed  to  see  was  a  vast  extent  of  burnt-up  prairie, 
broken  only  here  and  there  by  little  groups  or  streaks  of 
foliage.  Some  way  out  on  the  plain  were  the  mud  hovels 
of  the  modern  village  with  four  hideous  hotels,  making  this 
ugly  place  still  uglier ;  the  only  redeeming  features  being 
the  poplars,  tamarisks  and  cypresses  which  surmounted  it 
and  softened  its  harshness,  and  the  black  tents  of  the 
Bedawin,  which  suggested  a  very  ancient  past. 

But  again  we  could  forget  all  ugliness  as  we  looked  beyond 
the  village  and  beyond  the  parched  plain  and  beheld  once 
more  the  noble  range  of  Moab.  That  curious  scored  and 
crumpled  appearance  so  familiar  in  Palestine  pictures — the 
prominences  standing  out  in  bright  orange  and  ochre  and 
the  gullies  marked  in  vertical  streaks  of  deep  blue — all 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


170 

seemed  so  satisfactory  and  so  fitting,  so  scriptural  from  long 
association,  as  well  as  so  intrinsically  dignified  and  lovely. 

As  to  Jericho  itself,  the  discrepancy  between  its  traditional 
glories  and  its  squalid  appearance  was  presently  in  some  sort 
explained  by  a  certain  dry  stony  reservoir,  an  ancient  ruined 
pool,  which  lay  upon  our  right  as  we  neared  the  foot  of  the 
hill.  It  belonged,  so  antiquaries  tell  us,  to  the  old  irrigation 
works,  which  at  one  time  spread  a  network  of  living  streams 
far  around,  and  gave  to  Jericho  the  name  u  City  of  Palms  ” 
and  that  reputation  as  an  earthly  paradise  which  lingers 
even  yet  in  spite  of  the  glaring  reality. 

Another  still  greater  interest  attaches  to  it,  for  there  is 
little  doubt  that  this  is  the  self-same  pool  which  Herod  con¬ 
structed  near  to  his  Jericho  palace.  We  are  standing,  in  fact, 
in  the  very  midst  of  the  New  Testament  Jericho,  which  did 
not  occupy  the  same  site  as  the  Jericho  of  old  Hebrew  times, 
the  latter  lying  some  distance  to  the  north.  The  group  of  dry 
mounds  which  rise  on  both  sides  of  our  road  cover  the  re¬ 
mains  of  the  Jericho  of  Roman  times — the  Jericho  of  Antony, 
of  Herod,  of  Zacchaeus  the  tax-gatherer. 

According  to  Josephus,*  Cleopatra  received  from  Antony 
the  revenues  derived  from  the  balsam  and  palm-trees  of  this 
region,  but  afterwards  Herod  the  Great  compounded  for 
them  and  came  into  personal  possession  of  the  place,  and 
here  it  was  that  he  built  that  royal  residence  in  which  he 
died  his  loathsome  death.  I  believe  we  can  actually  see  the 
place  where  the  springs  of  Callirhoe  run — those  hot  springs 
to  which  the  tyrant  resorted  in  his  last  illness.  They  still 
rise  on  the  further  shore  of  yonder  blue  sea,  far  away  to  the 
south-east.  The  coast  in  their  immediate  neighbourhood,  at 
any  rate,  is  in  view ;  and  it  was  thither  that  the  wretched 
king  painfully  travelled,  and  there  that  he  bathed  in  vain 
hope  of  curing  the  terrible  disease  from  which  he  suffered. 

Some  thirty  years  after  Herod's  death  a  humble  prophet 
of  the  people  passed  beneath  the  palace  walls,  on  the  way  to 
his  doom.  As  he  issued  from  the  shadow  of  the  palms 
which  waved  their  fronds  above  the  white  houses  on  the 
western  outskirts  of  the  town,  a  blind  beggar  was  sitting  by 

the  wayside - .  One  knows  the  story.  The  incident  is  in 

the  earliest  record,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  and  it  happened 
almost  on  the  spot  where  we  are  standing.  Turn  round  ; 
look  up  the  way  we  have  just  come  :  see  the  hot  dry  road, 
where  it  climbs  those  treeless  heights.  It  was  much  the  same 

*  “  Antiq.”  xv.  iv,  1,  2. 


AN  EXCURSION  TO  JERICHO  171 

then,  for  there  was  never  any  water  between  this  place  and 
Jerusalem.  And  the  little  procession  of  Galileans,  with  the 
rejoicing  Bartimaeus  following  the  prophet,  wended  their 
toilsome  way  up  that  same  road,  just  as  yonder  company  of 
pilgrims  with  their  village-banner  is  climbing  the  height 
to-day. 

Another  two  miles  and  we  halted  before  the  rough  wooden 
structure,  dignified  by  the  name  of  “  hotel/'  which  stands 
in  the  midst  of  the  group  of  squalid  huts  known  to  the 
natives  as  Eriha.  And  here  it  may  be  as  well  to  explain 
that  there  are  no  less  than  four  Jerichos,  of  which  this 
village  of  Eriha  claims  to  be  one. 

The  oldest  city  lies  about  two  miles  to  the  west  of  our 
“  hotel  ”  :  it  is  buried  beneath  the  mounds  which  border  the 
so-called  Elisha's  spring,  just  below  the  traditional  Mount 
of  Temptation.  This  is  the  Jericho  of  the  Old  Testament. 
The  second  is  that  which  we  have  just  left :  the  noble  and 
beautiful  city  of  Herod.  The  traveller  from  Jerusalem 
passes  through  the  midst  of  what  must  have  been  the  main 
city,  though  the  houses  extended  perhaps  in  scattered 
fashion  as  far  south  as  the  further  side  of  Wadi  el-Kelt. 
The  third  is  the  Byzantine  Jericho,  which  stood  near  the 
site  of  the  Old  Testament  city,  but  further  from  the  moun¬ 
tains.  It  is  marked  by  loose  building-stones  and  fragments 
of  broken  pillars  buried  among  the  thorn-bushes  and  coarse 
herbage  in  that  part  of  the  plain.  And  the  fourth  is  the 
Jericho  where  we  have  just  dismounted  and  in  which  we  are 
to  stay  to-night.  This  is  the  Crusaders'  Jericho  ;  and  yonder 
square  tower  standing  a  little  to  the  south-east  of  us,  which 
the  credulous  tourist  accepts  from  his  dragoman  as  the 
11  House  of  Zacchaeus,"  is  doubtless  one  of  those  towers 
which  the  Crusaders  were  accustomed  to  build  along  their 
pilgrim-roads  for  the  protection  of  the  faithful. 

Nothing  in  the  way  of  exploring  can  be  done  to-day. 
The  evening  is  well  advanced  ;  the  sun  is  just  about  to  dip 
behind  the  ridge  which  divides  us  from  Jerusalem,  lighting 
with  its  parting  beams  the  brown  and  dusty  desert  by  which 
we  are  surrounded,  and  giving  even  to  that  a  burnished 
beauty  not  to  be  surpassed.  The  little  clouds  which  hang 
in  the  west  are  flecked  with  rosy  pink.  Darkness  falls,  the 
stars  come  out,  we  lie  down  to  rest.  But  sleep  comes  not  ; 
the  breathless  heat  of  this  Valley  of  Sodom  smothers  11s. 
It  wants  about  an  hour  to  midnight  when  we  rise  and 
wander  to  the  window  in  a  vain  attempt  to  get  a  mouthful 


172 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


of  freshness  out  of  the  stifling  night.  Shouts  and  the  beat¬ 
ing  of  drums  come  from  a  neighbouring  camp  of  Coptic 
pilgrims.  And  then,  silently,  a  tinge  of  silver  spreads  along 
the  ridge  of  Moab,  out  yonder  in  the  east,  and  slowly, 
solemnly,  the  waning  moon  floats  up  into  the  calm  sky, 
and  looks  down  with  serene  untroubled  eye  upon  our 
feverish  tossing,  our  troubled  thoughts,  our  weird  religions. 
So  looked  she  down  on  that  last  sad  journey  of  our  Lord, 
when  He  travelled  down  this  same  valley  of  the  Jordan  on 
His  way  to  Jerusalem.  For  I  suppose  that  He  slept  in 
Jericho,  at  the  house  of  Zacchaeus,  before  the  last  stage  of 
His  journey — so  at  least  the  story  as  told  by  St.  Mark  would 
seem  to  indicate — and  it  was  just  at  this  season  of  the  year. 
Upon  that  solemn  grief  and  despairing  hope  this  same 
Easter-moon  looked  down  with  this  same  untroubled  calm. 
Did  her  calm  seem  cold  to  Him,  austere  and  aloof  ?  Or 
did  it  speak  to  Him  of  “  peace  in  the  high  places,"  and 
heal  Him  with  the  strength  and  serenity  of  God's  own 
presence  ? 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

FROM  JERICHO  TO  BETH-NIMRAH  AND  BACK 

The  stifling  night  was  over  and  the  glare  and  dust  of  a  new 
day  begun.  Little  of  freshness  has  the  morning  of  an  April 
day  in  Jericho.  I  had  planned  for  to-day  an  excursion 
to  Tell  Nimrin,  which  some  have  held  to  be  the  true 
Bethabara.  So  I  bade  good-bye  to  my  companion,  who 
followed  in  the  long  tourist  procession  which  was  bound 
for  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  while  I  and  Hanna  sought 
out  our  Bedawi  guide  and  prepared  to  start  in  an  opposite 
direction,  for  Nimrin  lies  somewhat  higher  up  the  Ghor 
than  Jericho. 

My  equine  friend,  who  had  carried  me  for  so  many  days, 
had  been  brought  over  from  Jerusalem,  and  the  three  of  us, 
Englishman,  Syrian,  and  Bedawi,  were  soon  in  the  saddle 
and  riding  side  by  side  over  the  withered  plain  towards  the 
Jordan.  I  had  now  an  opportunity  of  observing  our  Arab 
guide  more  particularly.  He  was  a  good-looking,  lively 
fellow,  undersized  but  active.  Never  did  I  come  across 
such  a  talker.  For  fully  two  hours  he  kept  up  an  incessant 
flow  of  Arabic,  interrupted  only  at  long  intervals  by  a  word 
from  Hanna. 

Our  route  ran  somewhat  to  the  north  of  east  over  a  flat 
plain  by  a  broad  well-trodden  track.  Jericho,  it  must  be 
remembered,  stands  upon  the  upper  terrace  of  the  Jordan 
Valley,  900  feet  below  the  Mediterranean,  but  nearly  400  feet 
above  the  bed  of  the  river.  It  was  across  this  terrace,  left 
by  one  of  the  long  pauses  in  the  subsidence  of  the  great 
Jordan  lake,  that  we  had  hitherto  been  travelling  :  and  it 
was  not  till  we  had  crossed  four  or  five  miles  of  this  old 
lake-bottom  (Fig.  46)  that  we  came  to  the  edge,  where  a 
further  drop  was  to  take  us  into  the  Lower  Ghor — the 
deeper,  narrower  rift,  down  the  midst  of  which  the  river 
has  cut  its  proper  and  still  more  straitened  channel. 

It  was  there  that  we  entered  that  strange  labyrinth  of 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


174 

fantastic  mounds  which  never  fails  to  excite  the  wonder  of 
the  traveller  who  sees  it  for  the  first  time.  Heaps  of  soft 
white  marl,  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  height,  have  been 
carved  by  water  and  wind  into  every  imaginable  shape. 
Houses,  castles,  pyramids,  cairns,  ruined  fortresses,  ter¬ 
raced  citadels,  squared  and  buttressed  platforms,  are  all 
crowded  together,  divided  from  each  other  only  by  narrow 
passages  branching  in  every  direction  and  leading  nowhere 
— a  goblin  city,  silent  as  the  dead,  barren  as  Sahara,  gro¬ 
tesque  as  some  nightmare  dream.  Through  this  network 
of  alleys  we  must  have  ridden,  one  behind  the  other,  for 
nearly  a  mile,  without  seeing  a  bush  or  a  blade  of  grass, 
before  we  came  into  the  open. 

When  we  emerged  from  it  we  found  ourselves  not  far 
from  the  Jordan  bank.  The  river  has  worn  for  itself  a 
deep  channel,  fringed  with  tamarisk.  We  crossed  it  by  a 
quaint,  rough-looking  wooden  bridge,  with  sides  of  trellis- 
work,  the  entrance  being  closed  by  a  wooden  gate  which 
was  guarded  by  a  lodge,  where  the  bridge-keepers  resided. 
The  bridge  is  the  property  of  the  Sultan,  from  whom  the 
custodians  rent  it,  and  then  extract  what  they  like,  or  what 
they  can,  in  the  way  of  tolls  from  travellers. 

On  the  further  bank  we  entered  a  broad  belt  of  copse, 
where  for  the  first  time  I  heard  the  song  of  the  bulbul.  I 
mistook  it  at  first  for  that  of  the  nightingale,  for  it  has  the 
same  richness  and  liquid  beauty  ;  but  I  missed  the  long, 
piercing  note,  as  if  the  songster  were  in  pain,  which  in 
Philomel’s  song  is  so  characteristic  and  unmistakable.  But 
the  bulbul,  though  its  voice  is  so  like,  is  in  reality  quite 
distinct  from  the  nightingale,  and  is  more  nearly  allied  to 
the  thrush,  though  it  is,  as  Tristram  says,  of  “a  very 
marked  and  distinct  species,  of  which  we  possess  no 
representative.” 

After  the  copse  came  another  zone  of  fantastic  rocks 
similar  to  those  on  the  west  of  the  river,  but  not  equal  to 
them  in  extent  or  in  strangeness  of  form.  Passing  through 
these  we  emerged  on  a  wide  and  open  plain,  brown  and 
withered  like  the  Plain  of  Jericho  which  we  had  left,  and 
strewn  like  that  with  loose  stones,  but  studded  somewhat 
more  thickly  with  stumps  of  green  bushes.  Among  the 
latter  the  mimosa  prevailed.  It  was  in  fruit,  and  as  we 
rode  along  our  Bedawi  gathered  and  devoured  handfuls  of 
the  berries.  Then,  as  though  it  were  inhospitable  for  him 
to  be  eating  while  I  fasted,  he  drew  from  his  saddle-bag  a 


FROM  JERICHO  TO  BETH-NIMRAH  175 

minute  cucumber,  which  he  handed  to  me  with  a  smile, 
and  of  which  I  ate  with  relish,  finding  it  very  refreshing. 

The  heat  being  now  oppressive  and  wearying,  I  casually 
asked  our  Arab  when  we  should  arrive  at  Nimrin. 

He  immediately  answered,  “  We  are  in  Nimrin  already.” 

“  Where,  then,  is  the  Tell  ?  ”  I  inquired. 

“  It  is  a  long  way  yet  to  the  Tell,”  he  replied. 

“  Is,  then,  the  whole  of  this  country  called  1  Nimrin  >  ?  ”  I 
further  inquired. 

“The  whole  of  it,  down  to  the  Jordan  banks.” 

This  struck  me  as  rather  important  for  the  purpose  of  the 
problem  which  I  had  in  mind,  and  I  questioned  and  cross- 
questioned  him,  through  the  lips  of  my  dragoman,  but  he 
consistently  maintained  that  the  whole  district  was  called 
Nimrin  “  down  to  the  very  banks  of  the  river.” 

And  now,  in  a  few  words,  I  must  explain  to  my  reader  why 
this  seemed  to  me  of  some  importance. 

The  theory  that  Tell-Nimrin  is  the  site  of  Bethabara 
originated  with  the  late  Sir  George  Grove.  In  John  i.  28, 
we  read  :  “  These  things  were  done  in  Bethabara  beyond 
Jordan,  where  John  was  baptising.”  But  the  oldest  MSS.  read 
Bethany  instead  of  Bethabara,  and  the  Revised  Version  has 
amended  the  passage  accordingly.  Origen,  however,  al¬ 
though  he  mentions  the  fact  that  almost  all  the  copies  of 
his  time  had  “Bethany  beyond  Jordan,”  regarded  this  as  a 
copyist’s  slip,  and  on  topographical  grounds  retained  the 
name  Bethabara.  It  may  be  argued,  moreover,  that  it  is 
more  likely  that  Bethabara  should  be  altered  to  a  familiar 
name  like  Bethany,  than  that  Bethany  should  be  altered  to 
an  unfamiliar  name  like  Bethabara  ;  and  this  may  be  taken 
as  an  additional  reason  for  thinking  that  Bethabara  was  the 
original  reading.  And  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  there  stand 
the  ancient  MSS.,  with  their  striking  consensus  in  favour 
of  Bethany,  a  fact  which  it  is  impossible  lightly  to  set 
aside. 

Now,  it  would  not  be  an  isolated  phenomenon  if  the 
original  name  were  some  combination  of  the  variants  ;  in 
the  text  of  the  Old  Testament  instances  are  known  of  com¬ 
plex  words  branching  off  in  this  manner  into  two  different 
components.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that  the  real  name  of 
the  place  had  been  Bethanabra  ;  then  one  copyist,  omitting 
or  overlooking  the  final  letters,  might  have  substituted 
Bethany,  and  another,  overlooking  two  of  the  middle  letters, 
might  have  substituted  Bethabra — a  form  of  the  name 


176 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


which  does,  in  fact,  occur.  In  this  way  the  alternative  read¬ 
ings  Bethany  and  Bethabara  would  be  accounted  for. 

But  this,  one  may  be  inclined  to  say,  is  merely  guess¬ 
work.  That,  however,  is  not  quite  the  case.  For,  strange 
to  say,  one  ancient  MS.  of  the  Septuagint  actually  provides 
a  very  near  approximation  to  the  suggested  name  Bethan- 
abra.  In  Joshua  xiii.  2 7,  we  find  in  that  copy,  instead  of 
the  Hebrew  name  Beth-Nimrah,  the  form  Baithanabra, 
which  looks  like  a  confirmation  both  of  the  suggestion  that 
Bethanabra  was  the  form  which  Beth-Nimrah  ultimately 
took,  and  also  that  it  is  the  original  word  of  which  Bethany 
and  Bethabara  are  both  corruptions. 

It  was  this  theory  that  Beth-Nimrah  was  the  true  Betha¬ 
bara  which  had  led  me  to  undertake  the  present  expedition. 
I  was  quite  prepared,  if  the  topographical  aspect  of  the  place 
did  not  contradict  the  etymological  argument,  to  abandon 
the  traditional  scene  of  the  baptism  of  Jesus,  notwithstand¬ 
ing  any  prejudice  in  favour  of  the  Jordan  which  association 
might  have  created.  But  when  my  Bedawi  so  unexpectedly 
informed  me  that  Nimrin  extended  to  the  very  banks  of  the 
sacred  stream,  it  suddenly  struck  me  that  the  philological 
argument  and  the  traditional  view  might  thereby  be  har¬ 
monised.  For,  suppose  that  the  place  where  Jesus  was 
baptised  was  the  ford  near  the  junction  of  the  Wadi  Nimrin 
with  the  Jordan  (Fig.  47).  This  ford,  which  is  near  the 
wooden  bridge  by  which  we  had  crossed,  would  at  that  time 
be  the  regular  passage  used  by  all  who  passed  to  and  fro 
between  Jericho  and  Beth-Nimrah.  The  town  itself  is  five 
miles  to  the  east,  but  the  ford  would  naturally  be  known  as 
the  Ford  of  Beth-Nimrah,  that  being  the  nearest  place  for 
which  it  is  available.  On  that  supposition,  even  though 
Jesus  were  baptised  in  Jordan,  the  original  tradition  might 
very  well  have  run,  “  These  things  were  done  at  Beth- 
Nimrah."  Afterwards,  when  the  corruption  “  Bethany  " 
crept  in,  the  words,  “  which  is  beyond  Jordan,"  would  be 
added  to  distinguish  it  from  the  well-known  Bethany  near 
to  Jerusalem. 

However,  leaving  this  speculative  point  aside  for  the 
present,  my  immediate  object  was  to  ascertain  what  the 
probabilities  were  from  a  topographical  point  of  view.  Did 
Beth-Nimrah  look  like  a  place  for  a  public  baptising  ? 

This  was  the  point  I  had  chiefly  in  mind  when  at  length 
we  dismounted  at  the  Tell  (Fig.  48).  I  did  not  make  any 
extensive  survey  of  the  neighbourhood,  but  saw  quite  sufh- 


FIG.  48. — TELL  NIMRIN 


FIG  49- _ THE  JORDAN  NEAR  THE  MOUTH  OF  WADI  NIMRIN 


FROM  JERICHO  TO  BETH-NIMRAH  177 

cient  to  prove  that  a  town  of  some  extent  had  once  stood 
there.  There  were,  it  is  true,  no  standing  ruins,  but  there 
were  plenty  of  foundations  visible,  lines  and  angles  of 
squared  stones,  rising  just  above  the  surface  of  the  ground — 
the  vestiges  of  walls  and  houses  of  unknown  date,  overgrown 
now  with  brambles,  or  half-hidden  by  rank  herbage. 

Turning  my  attention  next  to  the  stream,  I  found  it  to  be 
a  mere  driblet  of  water  completely  choked  and  smothered 
in  a  dense  sub-tropical  growth.  Through  the  mass  of  vege¬ 
tation,  which  was  by  no  means  easy  to  penetrate,  the  shallow 
streamlet,  scarcely  more  than  ankle-deep,  slowly  filtered  its 
way.  On  the  face  of  it,  it  seemed  impossible  that  a  public 
baptising  could  take  place  at  such  a  spot. 

This,  however,  would  of  course  be  a  very  hasty  conclusion 
to  form  without  further  consideration.  In  the  first  place,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  when  Beth-Nimrah  was  an  in¬ 
habited  town,  the  vegetation  in  its  neighbourhood  would  be 
kept  within  bounds,  and  the  channel  of  the  stream  which 
is  now  choked  with  bushes  would  lie  open  to  the  sun.  Then, 
again,  much  might  have  been  done  by  means  of  damming  ; 
at  certain  seasons  a  head  of  water  would  be  collected  to  be 
presently  used  for  purposes  of  irrigation.  Furthermore,  we 
have  to  take  into  account  that  the  spring  of  1901,  in  which 
I  visited  the  place,  was  exceptionally  dry  ;  that  the  rivulet 
was,  therefore,  lower  than  usual,  and  that  a  great  part  of  it 
had  been  drawn  off  to  water  the  crops  of  the  fellahin,  who 
cultivate  some  considerable  tracts  of  ground  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  of  the  Tell.  I  went  to  look  at  their  irrigating 
channels,  and  found  that  some  of  the  side-streams  which 
they  had  conducted  to  their  fields  exceeded  in  volume  the 
main  stream  which  they  left  behind. 

These  main  points  being  taken  into  consideration,  no  one 
can  say  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  baptising  of  the  multi¬ 
tudes  to  have  taken  place  in  this  Nahr  of  Beth-Nimrah. 
But,  on  the  whole,  I  lean  to  the  theory  which  I  have  sug¬ 
gested  above.  Those  who  favour  the  idea  that  John  baptised 
close  to  the  town  of  Beth-Nimrah  would  perhaps  admit  that 
so  far  as  the  individual  baptism  of  Jesus  is  concerned,  the 
original  statement  of  the  earliest  Gospel  that  “Jesus  came 
from  Nazareth  to  Galilee,  and  was  baptised  of  John  in 
Jordan  ”  is  to  be  followed,  and  they  would  apply  the  words 
of  the  Fourth  Evangelist — “  These  things  were  done  in 
Bethabara" — not  to  the  baptism  of  Jesus,  but  to  John’s 
interview  with  the  deputation  from  Jerusalem.  Bethabara, 

M 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


178 

according  to  this  view,  would  be  merely  one  of  several 
places  where  John  baptised  the  multitudes. 

But  even  with  reference  to  the  baptism  of  the  multitudes, 
the  banks  of  Jordan  seem  more  probable  than  the  suburbs 
of  Beth-Nimrah.  The  fact  that  the  words  of  St.  Mark's 
Gospel  are,  They  “  were  all  baptised  of  him  in  the  river  of 
Jordan";  the  well-known  veneration  in  which  that  river 
was  held  making  it  the  natural  instrument  of  such  a  national 
consecration  ;  the  fact  that  Beth-Nimrah  was  a  considerable 
town,  while  the  Evangelist  tells  us  that  “  John  did  baptise 
in  the  wilderness  "  ;  all  favour  the  idea  that  the  waters  of 
the  Jordan  near  to  Beth-Nimrah,  rather  than  those  of  the 
little  stream  which  bathed  its  walls,  were  those  in  which  the 
people  were  cleansed  by  the  prophet. 

Did  John  travel  about  baptising  ?  Did  he  ever  baptise 
anywhere  except  in  the  sacred  river  ?  It  is  impossible  to 
say.  One  other  passage  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  mentions 
him  as  “  baptising  at  Aenon  (the  Springs)  near  to  Salim  "  ; 
but  neither  Aenon  nor  Salim  has  ever  been  satisfactorily 
identified.  Perhaps,  after  all,  what  the  Ephesian  Evangelist 
really  wrote  was  that  John  was  baptising  at  the  Springs 
near  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  to  be  noted  that  it  is  in  connection 
with  the  baptism  of  the  Judaeans  that  the  statement  is  made. 
By  this  vague  statement  he  may  merely  have  indicated 
those  fords  of  Jordan  which  were  nearest  to  the  Holy  City, 
the  clause  “because  there  were  many  springs  there"  being 
an  explanatory  gloss.  But  enough  of  speculation.  These 
questions,  arising  from  the  topography  of  the  Fourth  Gospel, 
can  never  be  settled  until  the  origin  and  structure  of  that 
Gospel  are  more  perfectly  known,  nor  until  its  historical 
and  symbolical  elements  have  been  more  clearly  distin¬ 
guished. 

On  our  return  journey  we  kept  nearer  to  the  bed  of  the 
stream — the  Wadi  Nimrin,  as  it  is  called — though  in  this 
case  the  term  Wadi  is  applied,  not  to  any  deep  cleft  in  the 
hills,  but  to  a  very  slight  depression  down  which  a  stream, 
small  in  volume  except  perhaps  in  the  winter  months,  finds 
its  way  to  the  Jordan.  The  stream  does  not  rise  near  the 
tell ;  it  rises  in  the  mountains  on  the  east.  From  its  source 
until  it  reaches  the  tell,  it  is  called,  so  our  guide  informed 
me,  the  Wadi  Sha'ib  ;  from  that  point  down  to  the  Jordan 
it  bears  the  name  of  Wadi  Nimrin.  I  measured  its  well- 
marked  channel  near  the  tell,  and  found  it  half-a-dozen 
paces  across.  The  thick  tangle  of  bushes  hid  the  river  from 


FROM  JERICHO  TO  BETH-NIMRAH  179 

sight  nearly  everywhere ;  but  about  half-a-mile  above  the 
Jordan  a  long  gap  occurred,  and  here  I  examined  the 
channel  again.  It  was  broader  here,  dividing  at  places  into 
two  or  three  branches  which  afterwards  reunited,  but  the 
bed  was  now  quite  dry,  the  whole  of  the  water  having  been 
taken  off  for  irrigation. 

As  we  approached  the  Jordan  I  hoped  to  see  the  junc¬ 
tion  of  the  Wadi  with  that  river,  but  found  a  broad  zone  of 
dense  and  thorny  copse  preventing  any  approach  to  the 
river.  I  asked  the  Arab  to  see  if  he  could  find  a  way  to  the 
junction  of  the  streams,  and  he  immediately  plunged  into 
the  thicket  and  disappeared  from  view.  He  was  gone  for 
about  twenty  minutes.  Then  there  was  a  stir  among  the 
bushes  near  us,  and  presently  his  swarthy  face  emerged 
from  the  thicket.  It  was  quite  impossible,  he  said,  to  reach 
the  place,  and  though  he  had  penetrated  for  some  distance 
in  the  required  direction,  he  had  lost  his  way  in  coming 
back.  Abandoning  this  project,  therefore,  we  made  the 
best  of  our  way  back  to  the  bridge,  and  here  we  saw  an 
interesting  example  in  the  art  of  misgovernment.  Just 
below  the  bridge  the  water,  although  too  deep  for  horses, 
can  be  waded  by  camels  ;  and  while  we  were  there  a  caravan 
of  these  beasts  of  burden  arrived  at  the  river-bank.  The 
drivers,  mounting  their  beasts,  entered  the  water  and  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  cross  the  river,  when,  lo  !  forth  from  their 
wooden  tower  issued  the  keepers  of  the  bridge,  shouting  and 
flinging  stones  and  attacking  both  men  and  beasts  with 
their  cudgels  when  they  attempted  to  land.  By  this  means 
they  at  length  obliged  them  to  recross  the  river  in  order 
that  they  might  come  over  the  bridge  and  pay  toll  !  And 
this  is  a  government-bridge,  erected  presumably  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  need  to  use  it,  not  for  the  compulsion 
of  those  who  do  not  need  it !  Such  is  the  practical  effect  of 
farming  out  tolls  and  taxes,  the  system  in  the  Palestine  both 
of  the  ancient  Romans  and  the  modern  Turks. 

We  lunched  in  the  shadow  of  the  bridge,  our  Bedawi,  so 
I  noted,  not  being  too  proud  to  pick  up  the  empty  bottles 
which  we  had  thrown  away  and  carefully  to  store  them  in 
his  saddle-bag.  Any  manufactured  articles — cheap  knives, 
or  scissors,  a  bit  of  wire,  an  old  nail,  a  broken  corkscrew 
are  always  prized  by  these  children  of  the  wilderness,  who 
have  no  factories  of  their  own.  We  then  paid  our  toll  and 
recovered  the  western  bank,  traversed  the  sandy  stretch 
beyond  and  found  ourselves  once  more  at  the  foot  of  the 


i8o 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


cliffs  and  terraces  which  mark  the  shore  of  the  primeval 
lake.  On  this  return  journey  our  guide  conducted  us,  by 
way  of  a  change,  through  a  longer  series  of  the  fantastic 
terraces  than  that  which  we  had  passed  through  in  the 
morning.  It  seemed,  indeed,  a  perfectly  hopeless  intricacy  : 
and  I  could  not  but  be  glad  to  remember  that  I  had  nothing 
in  my  pockets,  and  that  Hanna  was  armed.  Our  guide  was 
faithful,  however,  and  we  emerged  in  safety  from  this  night¬ 
mare-place  and  soon  “  pricked  across  the  plain/'  as  the 
romances  have  it,  to  our  sleeping-place  at  Eriha. 

I  found,  upon  our  return,  that  the  Dead  Sea  tourists  were 
also  back,  so  sought  out  my  friend  and,  after  a  cup  of  tea 
we  drove  together  to  see  the  famous  Fountain  of  Elisha. 
This  place  is  supposed  to  be  of  surpassing  beauty,  a  reputa¬ 
tion  which  I  cannot  but  think  is  echoed  from  the  past 
rather  than  evidenced  in  the  present.  The  banks  of  the 
stream,  it  is  true,  are  not  so  wanting  in  life  as  much  of  the 
surrounding  district ;  clustering  bushes  mark  the  course  of 
the  channel,  and  in  the  springtime  it  is  vocal  with  the  song 
of  birds.  But  the  channel  itself  is  of  the  most  formal  kind, 
for  the  natural  banks  a  kerb  like  that  of  a  London  pave¬ 
ment  has  been  substituted,  and  the  curves  of  the  flowing 
rivulet  have  been  cut  into  sharp  angles.  The  spring  which 
supplies  this  very  artificial  conduit  rises  at  the  foot  of  a 
barren  and  dusty  mound,  the  lower  part  of  which  is  terraced 
by  means  of  rough  walls  built  of  loose  stones  undraped  by 
any  trace  of  verdure. 

The  real  interest  of  the  place  lies  not  in  any  fancied 
picturesqueness,  but  in  that  self-same  dusty  mound  or  hill 
which  overhangs  it.  For  this,  as  already  mentioned,  is  no 
other  than  the  tell  in  whose  bowels  are  buried  the  oldest 
Jericho  of  all.  The  tell  itself  is  something  less  than  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  length  measured  up  and  down  the 
valley,  and  about  fifty  feet  in  height.  But  if  we  stand  away 
from  it  and  cast  our  eyes  upward  we  see  that  towards  one 
end  of  the  ridge,  mound  rises  above  mound,  the  highest 
being  almost  double  that  number  of  feet  above  the  plain. 
Whether  these  higher  mounds  mean  some  fortress  or 
acropolis  built  to  protect  the  city,  or  what  other  secrets  of 
antiquity  may  be  hidden  in  their  bosom,  no  man  knows. 
Some  little  attempt  at  excavation  was  made  many  years  ago, 
but  was  not  carried  far  enough  to  yield  results  of  much 
interest.  The  fragments  of  brick-work  which  were  exposed 


FROM  JERICHO  TO  BETH-NIMRAH  181 

were  found  to  be  peculiarly  friable,  and  it  was  even  con¬ 
jectured  at  one  time  that  the  whole  place  was  not  a  city  at 
all,  but  one  vast  brickfield,  where  bricks  were  made  for 
building  other  towns.  Such  a  theory,  however,  would  not 
to-day  be  entertained  by  any  one.  All  authorities  are 
agreed  that  there  did  once  stand  here  the  ancient  walled 
city  of  Jericho.  Only  a  few  years  ago,  an  ancient  mud 
brick  wall  was  laid  bare  near  the  face  of  the  tell,  and  pottery 
not  only  pre-Roman  but  also  pre-Israelitish  has  been  found. 
So  that  if  money  were  forthcoming  and  the  Sultan's  per¬ 
mission  were  obtained,  we  might  yet  hope  to  see  laid  bare 
some  prehistoric  city  like  that  recently  excavated  at  Gezer, 
and  above  this  the  Israelitish  city  of  Old  Testament  times, 
with  its  vicissitudes  marked  in  successive  layers  of  masonry 
and  debris — the  city  of  Hiel  the  Bethehte  upon  whom  the 
traditional  curse  of  Joshua  fell,  the  city  where  David's 
insulted  ambassadors  tarried  till  their  beards  were  grown, 
the  city  whose  inhabitants  called  in  the  magic  of  Elisha  to 
heal  the  waters  of  its  fountain,  and  that  desolated  city  to 
which  the  345  men  returned  from  captivity  in  the  days  of 
Nehemiah.  Wonderful  that  our  generation  should  leave 
such  an  unopened  page  of  sacred  history  buried  in  this 
desolate  mound  ! 

Upon  one  other  question  we  must  say  a  word  before  we 
leave  this  Old  Testament  site.  What  about  the  Jericho  of 
Joshua,  and  the  walls  which  fell  before  the  blast  of  the 
invaders’  trumpets  ?  May  we  picture  to  ourselves  the  hosts  of 
Israel  crossing  yonder  fords  and  swarming  over  the  fruitful 
plain  ?  May  we  imagine  them  compassing  the  city  seven 
days,  and  either  with  or  without  miracle  breaching  the  brick 
walls  and  sacking  the  city  ? 

In  answer  to  this  question  I  fear  that  we  must  banish  the 
picture  from  the  mind  as  anything  more  than  poetry  and 
symbol.  At  least  we  cannot  historically  attach  it  to  this 
particular  spot.  The  probabilities  seem  almost  overwhelming 
that  it  was  not  here  but  at  the  Ford  of  Damieh,  much  higher 
up  the  river,  that  the  crossing  of  Joshua's  Israelites  took 
place.  If  we  read  Joshua  lii.  16,  in  the  amended  version  of 
Canon  Cheyne,  we  find  that  it  runs  as  follows  :  u  (It  came 
to  pass)  that  the  water  stood  still  ;  that  which  came  down 
from  above  stood  as  a  heap  some  distance  from  the  ford  of 
Adamah  which  is  opposite  Beth-Zur  "  ;  and  the  ford  of 
Adamah  there  mentioned  is  without  doubt  to  be  identified 
with  the  modern  ford  of  Damieh,  at  the  confluence  of  the 


182 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Jabbok  and  the  Jordan,  the  very  ford,  in  fact,  at  which 
Jacob  also  is  said  to  have  crossed  with  his  family  and  his 
flocks. 

One  interesting  fact  is  that  at  this  Ford  of  Adamah,  where 
the  Ephraimite  Joshua  led  his  troops  across  dryshod,  an 
occurrence  identical  with  that  of  the  heaping  up  of  the  water 
described  in  the  biblical  narrative  has  happened  in  historical 
times.  Near  to  that  ford  there  are  still  to  be  seen  the  ruins 
of  an  ancient  bridge  which  was  built  by  the  Sultan  of  Egypt 
in  1266.  When  that  bridge  was  completed,  part  of  the  piers 
gave  way  ;  and  while  the  engineers  were  wondering  how  to 
repair  them,  the  waters  were  arrested  and  the  bed  of  the 
river  left  dry,  although  the  Jordan  was  then  in  flood.  This 
was  doubtless  regarded  as  a  miracle  ;  though  the  cause  of  it 
was  ascertained  to  be  a  very  natural  one,  namely,  a  landslip 
which  had  occurred  higher  up  the  stream  and  which  blocked 
the  channel  for  several  hours.* 

*  For  the  full  account  of  this  see  P.E.F.Q.S.  1895,  256  ff. 


FIG.  50. — PILGRIMS  TO  THE  TOMB  OF  MOSES 


FIG.  5 1.— POOLS  OF  SOLOMON  :  THE  MIDDLE  POOL 


CHAPTER  XXX 


THE  RETURN  TO  JERUSALEM— THE  GARDEN  OF 

GETHSEMANE 

There  had  been  rain  in  the  night,  and  the  morning  was 
cloudy,  as  the  long  line  of  carriages  toiled  slowly  up  the 
interminable  ascent  from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem.  As  we 
passed  the  Herodian  city  I  again  took  particular  note  that 
the  tells  were  on  both  sides  of  our  road,  so  that  if  the 
modern  road  follows  the  line  of  the  ancient,  as  it  is  said  to 
do,  travellers  from  beyond  Jordan  must  have  passed  through 
the  very  midst  of  the  town  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem. 

The  road  climbs  through  the  folded  hills,  which  for  the 
most  part  are  rounded  in  form,  but  broken  here  and  there 
into  cliffs  of  white  or  grey.  Numbers  of  Mohammedan 
pilgrims  thronged  the  way,  the  greater  part  on  foot,  though 
now  and  then  women  were  to  be  seen  riding  on  horses  or 
other  beasts.  They  rode  astride,  of  course,  as  women  do  in 
the  East,  being  much  more  careful  to  cover  their  faces  than 
their  limbs.  Here  and  there  a  family  party  might  be  seen, 
the  woman  mounted  on  an  ass  or  camel  and  carrying  a 
babe,  while  the  father  trudged  beside  her,  reminding  one  of 
familiar  pictures  of  the  Flight  into  Egypt.  This  must  have 
been  from  sheer  inability  on  the  part  of  the  woman  to 
perform  the  journey  on  foot,  for  it  is  not  the  common 
custom  ;  the  Palestine  man  usually  rides  while  the  woman 
walks  behind.  Many  of  the  pilgrims  were  formed  into 
procession,  some  of  the  men  carrying  spears  and  others 
banners  and  drums.  One  such  procession  I  photographed 
over  the  back  of  our  carriage,  but  the  banner-bearer  espied 
me  as  I  was  about  to  “  snap  ”  them,  and  hastily  held  his 
hand  before  his  face  that  he  might  not  be  accessory  at  such 
a  holy  time  to  the  sinful  idolatry  of  the  kodak  (Fig.  50.) 
Soon  after  we  had  passed  them,  1  looked  back  and  saw  the 
procession  turn  aside  from  the  road  and  climb  a  neighbour¬ 
ing  height  to  visit  a  sacred  spring. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


184 

These  pilgrim  crowds  were  for  the  most  part  returning 
from  the  “Tomb  of  Moses/'  which  it  is  customary  at  this 
time  of  the  year  to  visit.  The  Bible  tradition  is  that  “  Moses 
the  servant  of  Jehovah  died  there  in  the  land  of  Moab; 
according  to  the  word  of  Jehovah,  and  He  buried  him  in 
a  ravine  in  the  land  of  Moab,  before  Beth-peor ;  but  no 
man  knoweth  of  his  sepulchre  unto  this  day."  The 
Moslems,  however,  think  they  do  know  it ;  and  departing 
from  the  sscriptural  account,  they  place  the  tomb  of  Moses 
not  far  from  the  monastery  of  Mar  Saba,  on  the  west  of  the 
Dead  Sea,  which  is  of  course  the  wrong  side  of  the  valley. 
Dean  Stanley  says  that  the  authorities  of  Jerusalem  fix  the 
Greek  Easter  as  the  time  for  the  pious  to  visit  the  tomb  of 
Moses,  so  that  if  the  city  were  surprised  by  the  Christians 
who  flock  to  Jerusalem  at  that  time,  there  might  be  a 
body  of  Mussulman  pilgrims  on  the  spot  to  defend  it. 
If  this  is  true  it  seems  a  most  ill-advised  measure  for 
the  authorities  to  have  taken  ;  for  the  simultaneous 
presence  of  two  fanatical  mobs  so  mutually  hostile  as  the 
Greek  Christians  and  the  orthodox  Mussulmans  is  always 
a  source  of  danger  and  has  often  issued  in  religious 
riots. 

As  we  neared  Bethany  a  new  experience  overtook  us. 
It  became  bitterly  cold,  and  presently  down  came  a  sudden 
rain,  straight,  violent,  and  icy.  It  was  something  of  a 
surprise,  for  I  had  never  associated  that  kind  of  rain  with 
Bible  countries.  The  abundant  tropical  rain  one  had  of 
course  heard  of,  but  I  had  always  imagined  it  warm  and 
fruitful ;  here,  however,  was  a  cruel  downpour,  as  spiteful 
as  any  experience  in  our  northern  climate.  And  yet  it  ought 
not  to  have  been  surprising  at  an  elevation  of  something  like 
2500  feet  above  the  sea.  Moreover,  out  of  some  seventy 
or  eighty  Bible  references  to  the  rain,  although  the  great 
majority  speak  of  the  rain  as  an  unmitigated  blessing,  we 
have  the  other  side  too  :  in  the  Book  of  Ezra  “the  people 
sat  trembling  for  the  great  rain,"  and  in  Ezekiel  the  Lord 
threatens  to  rain  in  the  land  of  Israel  with  “  an  overflowing 
rain,  and  great  hailstones,  fire,  and  brimstone."  Indeed, 
there  is  plenty  of  hail  in  the  Bible  “hail,  snow,  and 
vapour  "  ;  “  tempests  of  hail  "  ;  “  hail  for  rain  and  flaming 
fire."  The  sooner  we  rid  our  minds  of  the  idea  that 
Palestine  is  a  hot  land,  the  sooner  shall  we  understand  the 
meteorology  of  our  Bibles.  Palestine  is  as  cold  as  it  is 
hot  ;  as  must  of  course  always  be  the  case  in  a  mountainous 


THE  RETURN  TO  JERUSALEM  185 

country,  whose  heights  are  often  snow-clad,  though  its 
depths  are  tropical. 

We  passed  Bethany,  descended  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and, 
the  storm  being  over,  we  took  the  opportunity  of  visiting 
the  traditional  Garden  of  Gethsemane. 

Here  it  is  a  relief  to  doubt,  and  would  be  a  still  greater 
relief  if  one  could  entirely  disbelieve.  It  would  be  inex¬ 
pressibly  painful  to  behold  this  little  formal  square,  with  its 
stone  wall,  its  gravel  paths,  its  flower  beds  and  vulgar  little 
shrines,  if  one  knew  that  this  was  indeed  the  place  where 
Jesus  “  sweat  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood."  I  have  seen 
many  a  little  suburban  garden  attached  to  a  stuccoed  villa 
with  more  of  nature  about  it  than  has  this  enclosure  since 
the  Franciscans  some  sixty  years  ago  took  in  hand  to  adorn 
it.  They  could  not  have  made  a  greater  blunder ;  for, 
the  garden  to  which  Jesus  retreated  (if  it  was  a  garden  at 
all  and  not  rather  a  small  field  or  orchard)  was  Oriental  : 
and  an  Oriental  “  garden  ”  is  a  plantation  of  trees,  not  a 
geometrical  arrangement  of  flower  borders. 

The  one  redeeming  feature  of  the  place  is  the  group  of 
venerable  olive  trees  which  remain  in  the  centre  of  it.  For 
centuries  past  Christian  pilgrims  have  regarded  those  trees 
as  witnesses  of  Christ's  agony  ;  and  many  a  doubting  tourist 
of  to-day  still  tries  to  believe  that  it  was  beneath  their 
shadow  that  Jesus  knelt  and  prayed,  “Father,  if  it  be 
possible." 

Perhaps,  after  all,  the  notion  is  not  so  absurd  as  it  might 
seem  at  first  to  be.  There  were  olive  trees  at  Linternum  in 
Italy,  which  in  Pliny’s  time  were  said  to  be  250  years  old, 
and  they  are  recorded  to  have  survived  to  the  middle  of  the 
tenth  century  ;  and,  according  to  Tristram,  “  there  are  many 
olive  trees  near  Carthage,  in  Africa,  not  more  antique  in 
appearance,  which,  with  good  reason,  are  believed  to  date 
from  a  time  before  the  irruption  of  the  Vandals." 

Yet  even  these  cases  of  longevity,  supposing  them  to  be 
proved,  fall  some  centuries  short  of  the  age  required  to 
establish  the  desired  belief  concerning  the  trees  of  Gethse¬ 
mane.  And  on  the  other  hand  we  have  to  set  the  fact  that 
it  is  altogether  exceptional,  if  it  has  ever  actually  occurred, 
for  olive  trees  to  attain  so  great  an  age,  and  the  still  more 
patent  fact  that  these  particular  trees  are  never  mentioned 
till  the  sixteenth  century. 

There  are,  moreover,  other  considerations  which  militate 
against  the  claim  made  for  these  arboreal  patriarchs.  It  is 


i86 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


expressly  stated  by  Josephus  that  when  Titus  laid  siege  to 
Jerusalem  he  cut  down  all  the  trees  round  Jerusalem  ;  and  as 
to  this  particular  side  of  Jerusalem,  we  know  that  the  Tenth 
Legion  were  encamped  there,  and  we  know  moreover  that 
in  the  course  of  the  siege  a  wall  of  circumvallation  was 
carried  along  the  Kidron  valley,  which  must  have  passed 
close  to  the  spot  now  known  as  Gethsemane.  It  is  extremely 
unlikely,  therefore,  that  under  these  circumstances  this  par¬ 
ticular  group  would  be  spared. 

But,  apart  from  this  question  of  the  olive  trees,  is  there 
any  reason  for  believing  that  the  true  Garden  of  Gethsemane 
was  situated  just  here  ?  All  we  learn  from  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  is  that  from  Jerusalem  it  lay  beyond  the  “  Kedron,”  and 
that  it  was  at  or  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Luke  says,  “  He 
went  unto  the  Mount  of  Olives  ;  ”  the  fourth  Evangelist, 
“  He  went  over  the  brook  Kedron,  where  was  a  garden/'  It 
is  not  distinctly  stated  in  any  Gospel  that  it  was  on  the 
Mount.  So  far  as  situation  is  concerned,  therefore,  the 
traditional  garden  satisfies  the  Scriptures.  But  so  would  a 
hundred  other  spots  ;  and  we  are  forced  ultimately  to  rely 
upon  tradition  ;  and  the  tradition,  alas,  will  scarcely  bear  the 
weight  of  our  reliance.  One  very  suspicious  circumstance 
is  that  it  is  first  met  with  in  the  fourth  century,  soon  after 
the  time  when  the  Empress  Helena  came  to  Jerusalem  and 
gave  her  royal  authority  to  other  sacred  sites,  including  that 
of  Calvary.  It  was  upon  this  visit  that  she  discovered  the 
true  cross,  a  discovery  which  throws  some  doubt  upon  all 
other  discoveries  made  by  her.  Nevertheless,  it  is  impossible 
to  prove  a  negative,  and  supposing  that  the  traditional 
Gethsemane,  as  well  as  the  traditional  Calvary,  received  the 
sanction  of  the  Empress,  it  may  of  course  quite  possibly 
have  been  based  on  some  local  memory  or  native  knowledge, 
the  chief  consideration  against  the  existence  of  any  such 
surviving  knowledge  being  that  extensive  terracings  had 
been  carried  out  by  the  Emperor  Hadrian  in  the  Kidron 
Valley  a  couple  of  centuries  earlier,  which  must  considerably 
have  altered  the  whole  appearance  of  the  place. 

For  my  own  part,  I  think  I  may  say  that  the  one  thing 
which  weighed  with  me  above  all  others,  as  I  stood  within 
the  garden  itself,  was  its  proximity  to  the  road.  In  Christ's 
time  it  stood  in  like  proximity  to  the  then  existing  Roman  road 
to  Jericho.  And  that  a  place  so  situated  should  have  been 
chosen  for  a  retreat  (for  as  such  Jesus  seems  to  have  used 
it)  is  well-nigh  incredible.  Even  if  it  were  ten  times  the  size 


THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE  187 

of  the  present  garden  (which  covers  less  than  half  an  acre) 
it  would  not  be  much  of  a  retreat,  so  near  to  the  dust  and 
noise  of  passers-by.  Rather  would  I  picture  the  chosen 
place  for  rest  and  meditation  well  up  the  mountain-side.  In 
the  lifetime  of  Jesus  the,  whole  of  the  western  slope  was 
thickly  clothed  with  olive  trees.  Many  an  olive  garden  such 
as  the  one  which  Jesus  chose  must  have  hung  there.  “Gethse- 
mane  ”  means  “  the  olive-press  ”  ;  it  is  an  Aramaic  word,  a 
word  of  the  people.  Some  one  among  the  people  of 
Jerusalem  owned  the  little  farm,  grew  olives  there,  and  had 
fashioned  within  its  borders  a  press  for  the  extraction  of  the 
oil.  He  or  she  was  a  disciple  of  the  prophet,  a  follower  of 
this  spiritual  Messiah,  and  loved  to  have  Him  shelter  here  in 
the  deep  shadow  of  the  grey  branches,  taking  refuge  from 
the  noisy  throng,  the  heated  controversialists,  the  crowding 
disciples,  the  staring  day. 

The  hillside,  as  we  now  see  it,  almost  denuded  of  trees, 
woefully  disfigured  with  hideous  churches  and  the  still  more 
hideous  houses  of  the  rich,  scored  this  way  and  that  with 
newly-made  roads,  and  desecrated  by  crowds  of  scampering 
tourists  “  doing"'  Jerusalem  in  a  day,  does  not,  it  is  true, 
readily  lend  itself  to  such  a  picture  in  any  part  of  its  wide 
sweep.  But  it  was  not  so  then.  Many  a  shady  grove  was 
there,  many  a  natural  oratory  ;  but  not  here  by  the  public 
road  and  in  the  bottom  of  a  stifling  valley  ;  up  yonder, 
rather,  withdrawn  from  the  public  highway  and  lifted  nearer 
to  heaven. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


A  DRIVE  TO  BETHLEHEM 

In  the  afternoon  of  that  day  we  drove  to  Bethlehem. 
Our  road  ran  to  the  south  over  a  high  plain  or  tableland, 
desolate  and  stony  like  the  greater  part  of  Judaea.  Of 
course  we  saw  the  little  wayside  pool,  called  the  Well  of  the 
Magi,  where  they  found  again  their  lost  star,  and  besides 
which  also  the  Virgin  rested  on  her  way  to  Bethlehem.  It 
is  not  generally  known  what  finally  became  of  the  star,  but 
at  Bethlehem  they  will  tell  you  that  it  fell  at  last  into  a 
spring  near  the  Church  of  the  Nativity,  where  it  remained, 
and  where  to  this  day  virgins,  and  virgins  only,  can  see  it. 
For  we  are  here  quite  in  the  land  of  legend.  We  do  not 
look  south  of  Jerusalem  for  New  Testament  history  :  what 
of  Bible  history  can  be  illustrated  here  belongs  not  to  the 
Son  of  David,  but  to  David  himself,  and  even  that  is  full  of 
doubt. 

Soon  after  passing  the  Magi's  Well  we  begin  to  get 
glimpses  of  the  Dead  Sea,  far  away  upon  our  left ;  a  lovely 
gleam  of  blue  among  its  grey  hills.  There  is  more 
“  atmosphere  "  to-day  than  we  have  usually  seen  in  Palestine. 
Mount  Nebo  far  away  beyond  the  sea  looks  as  it  should 
look,  wonderful,  mysterious,  and  dreamy,  and  we  can 
almost  see  upon  its  summit  the  vast  and  shadowy  form 
of  Israel's  Lawgiver  looking  abroad  upon  the  land  of 
promise. 

On  the  road  we  meet  numbers  of  Bethlehem  women 
trudging  to  Jerusalem  in  twos  and  threes.  Their  dress  pro¬ 
claims  at  once  the  town  from  which  they  come,  for  the 
Bethlehem  costume  is  peculiar  to  Bethlehem.  It  consists 
of  a  long  blue  garment  with  sleeves  loose  and  open  at  the 
wrists,  and  in  most  cases  with  gay  needlework  upon  the 
breast  and  arms.  Over  this  is  worn  a  little  tight-fitting, 
sleeveless,  scarlet  jacket,  very  brightly  embroidered.  The 
head-dress  is  remarkable.  It  is  a  stiff  brimless  hat,  in 


A  DRIVE  TO  BETHLEHEM 


189 

shape  and  colour  something  like  a  fez,  decorated  with 
numbers  of  gold  and  silver  coins  sewn  upon  the  front. 
The  coins  in  most  cases  are  shams,  but  rich  women  wear 
real  money  upon  their  caps,  and  it  is  said  that  many  a  time 
this  display  has  been  the  incentive  to  highway  robbery. 
Over  this  gorgeous  headpiece  an  embroidered  veil  is  thrown, 
made  generally  of  muslin  or  fine  linen,  and  worked  round 
the  border  and  at  the  corners  in  coloured  wools,  but  the 
veil  protects  only  the  neck  and  ears,  the  face  being  left 
uncovered. 

The  origin  of  this  striking  costume  I  have  been  unable  to 
discover.  It  is  probably  more  modern  than  Bible  times. 
The  veil,  at  any  rate,  as  it  was  worn  in  Bethlehem  in  Old 
Testament  days  must  have  been  far  more  substantial  than 
that  which  is  worn  to-day,  or  Boaz  could  never  have 
measured  six  measures  of  barley  into  Ruth's  veil.  That 
might  still  be  done  into  the  Jerusalem  veil,  but  not  into 
that  of  modern  Bethlehem.  The  whole  costume,  indeed, 
appears  to  be  unlike  anything  else  in  Palestine.  The 
complexion  too,  of  the  Bethlehem  people  is  different,  and 
seems  to  argue  a  different  race.  They  are  fair-skinned 
and  light-haired  ;  a  peculiarity  which  it  is  conjectured  they 
owe  to  Norman  blood  derived  from  the  Crusaders.  The 
children,  in  particular,  are  of  striking  beauty. 

In  the  course  of  our  drive  we  pass  many  vineyards,  not 
differing,  indeed,  from  those  which  we  have  seen  in  other 
parts  of  Palestine,  but  bringing  specially  to  mind  in  this 
locality  the  Parable  of  the  Wicked  Husbandmen,  because  it 
must  have  been  in  Jerusalem  and  against  Jerusalem  that 
Jesus  spoke  that  parable.  The  vineyards  are  surrounded 
by  walls  built  of  loose  stones,  similar  to  those  which  are 
seen  in  Cumberland  and  Westmorland.  When  Mark  says 
that  the  owner  “  set  a  hedge  about  it/'  he  can  hardly  mean 
a  quick  hedge,  for  although  in  Christ’s  day  Judaea  was 
under  better  cultivation  than  now,  it  was  essentially  the 
same  stony  district.  “  He  hedged  it  round  about,"  says 
Matthew,  and  that  is  perhaps  nearer  to  the  spoken  word, 
meaning,  of  course,  that  he  surrounded  it  by  a  wall. 

The  “tower"  which  the  owner  built  is  seen  to-day  :  every 
vineyard  has  its  tower.  It  is  sometimes  square,  sometimes 
round,  but  the  round  towers  seem  rather  more  character¬ 
istic  of  this  part  of  the  country.  They  are  used  as  lodges 
for  watchers  when  the  grapes  are  ripening,  and  very  neces¬ 
sary  they  must  be  in  this  land  of  thieves.  At  present,  when 


190  TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 

the  vines  are  scarcely  showing  life,  the  towers,  of  course, 
are  empty. 

Another  biblical  reference  is  recalled  by  the  little  domed 
well  known  as  the  Tomb  of  Rachel.  We  pass  it  on  our 
right  about  a  mile  this  side  of  Bethlehem.  The  building 
itself  is  a  comparatively  modern  erection,  but  Rachel’s 
Sepulchre  has  been  located  here  for  many  centuries,  and  if 
we  could  take  the  Scripture  story  as  it  stands  and  regard  it 
as  plain  history,  one  might  almost  accept  the  site,  the  chief 
difficulty  in  that  case  being  that  “ a  voice  was  heard  in 
Ramah  "  cannot  be  made  to  fit  this  tomb,  since  the  only 
Ramah  known  is  far  away  to  the  north  of  Jerusalem.  The 
story  cannot,  however,  be  taken  as  it  stands.  There  are,  in 
fact,  three  stages  in  the  history  of  “  Rachel's  Sepulchre/’ 
which  we  must  consider  in  estimating  its  topographical 
interest. 

The  first  stage  is  the  historical.  And  here  we  are  met  by 
the  discomforting  disappearance  of  Rachel  altogether  as  a 
historical  personage  :  she  melts  into  the  personification  of  a 
clan.  Rachel  was  in  fact  the  eponymous  mother  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel.  Her  name  “  Rahel,"  meaning  “a  ewe," 
indicates,  perhaps,  that  the  ewe  was  the  totem  of  the  original 
clan.  The  second  stage  is  the  legendary,  in  which  Jacob 
makes  a  journey  from  Paddam-aram  or  Mesopotamia  to 
the  Tower  of  Eder  between  Bethlehem  and  Hebron.  On 
this  journey  Rachel  died  and  was  buried  at  some  point  on 
the  road  between  Bethel  and  Ephrath,  “and  Jacob  set  up 
a  pillar  upon  her  grave  ;  the  same  is  the  Pillar  of  Rachel’s 
grave  unto  this  day  "  (Gen.  xxxv.  20).  The  “day"  unto 
which  the  pillar  had  stood  there  was  somewhere  near  the 
end  of  the  ninth  century  B.C. ;  and  there  apparently  it  con¬ 
tinued  to  stand  until  the  time  of  Jesus.*  But  that  pillar  did 
not  stand  where  Rachel's  Tomb  is  now  shown,  it  stood  by 
the  roadside  near  to  Ramah  between  Bethel  and  Jerusalem. 

The  third  stage  is  that  of  Christian  Invention  ;  at  least, 
that  seems  on  the  whole  the  most  probable  origin  for  the 
modern  site.  A  time  of  tumult,  destruction,  and  dispersion 
had  swept  away  both  the  pillar  and  its  tradition,  and  the 
site  of  Rachel's  Tomb  was  transferred  to  the  Bethlehem 
road,  south  of  Jerusalem,  perhaps  to  fit  the  story  of  Rachel 
weeping  over  the  massacre  of  the  Babes  of  Bethlehem. 
The  only  circumstance  that  gives  us  pause  in  thus  assign¬ 
ing  the  invention  to  the  age  of  Constantine  is  that  Jews, 
*  See  Hausrath,  “  Time  of  Jesus”  (Eng.  trans.),  vol.  i.  p.  30. 


A  DRIVE  TO  BETHLEHEM 


191 

Christians,  and  Moslems  all  agree  upon  this  Bethlehem 
tomb,  a  combination  which  might  perhaps  argue  an 
older  date. 

Of  patriarchal  interest,  at  any  rate,  this  little  tomb  has 
none.  And  it  is  so  extremely  doubtful  whether  in  Jesus'  day 
it  was  ever  looked  upon  as  a  sacred  spot,  so  probable  that 
the  tomb  to  which  Matthew  alludes  was  the  pillar  at  Ramah, 
that  it  is  almost  equally  devoid  of  New  Testament  signifi¬ 
cance.  Only  in  one  connection  can  it  have  some  interest 
for  New  Testament  students  :  it  may  be  in  fact  that  which 
M.  Clermont-Ganneau  believes  it  to  be — the  tomb  of 
Archelaus  mentioned  by  Jerome. 

Bethlehem  itself  we  found  to  be  a  busy,  energetic  place. 
It  has  an  air  of  industry,  reminding  one  in  this  respect  of 
Nazareth.  The  Christian  towns  in  Palestine  seem  always 
to  be  the  most  progressive,  the  one  fact  to  be  regretted 
being  that  in  their  progressiveness  they  imitate  too  much 
the  architecture,  dress  and  manners  of  the  West.  Here,  as 
at  Nazareth,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  building  going  on  ;  new 
houses  springing  up  in  all  directions,  not  always  of  the 
Oriental  type.  One  of  the  chief  industries  of  the  place  is 
the  making  of  “  objects  of  religion  "  from  mother-o'-pearl 
and  olive-wood.  Unfortunately,  the  imitation  of  u  pro¬ 
gressive"  nations  is  here  extended  to  one  of  their  chief 
vices,  a  large  proportion  of  the  objects  being  hastily  and 
roughly  made,  and  the  beads  of  the  rosaries  often  strung  on 
the  flimsiest  thread  for  cheapness’  sake.  The  annual  export 
from  Palestine  of  these  and  other  u  articles  of  Christian 
veneration  ”  amounts  to  no  less  than  2700  cwt. ;  they  form 
in  fact  one  of  the  principal  articles  of  commerce. 

To  one  who  has  abandoned  the  belief  that  Bethlehem 
was  the  birthplace  of  Jesus,  its  chief  biographical  interest 
gathers  round  the  name  of  David.  Accordingly  I  requested 
Hanna  to  conduct  us  to  “  David’s  Well,"  that  famous 
“  well  of  Bethlehem,  which  is  by  the  gate,"  whence  the 
three  mighty  men  drew  the  water  which  David  would  not 
drink,  “  but  poured  it  out  unto  the  Lord."  Our  dragoman 
naively  asked  which  of  David's  Wells  I  wanted  to  see,  since 
there  were  two  of  them.  u  Both,"  I  answered.  So  he  took 
us  first  to  the  Latin  well,  or  rather  to  the  insurmountable 
wall  surrounding  it.  We  hammered  lustily  at  the  gate,  but 
no  one  came.  The  custodian  of  the  Greek  well,  which  was 
just  across  the  road,  poking  his  head  out  of  his  own  entrance 
to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  was  delighted  to 


192 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


see  the  opposition  shop  closed  against  its  own  customers, 
and  beckoning  to  us  frantically  he  entreated  us  to  come  and 
see  the  true  and  only  David’s  Well  on  his  side  of  the  way. 
This,  after  some  more  fruitless  pounding,  we  resolved  to  do, 
and  having  presented  the  Greek  gentleman  with  a  coin  of 
small  value  about  the  size  of  a  cartwheel,  were  admitted  to 
the  sacred  precincts. 

I  am  afraid  I  had  overlooked  the  fact  that  the  Scripture 
story  designates  David’s  well  as  a  “bor”  and  not  an  “ain,” 
and  I  was  expecting  a  living  spring  of  crystal  water  which 
would  explain  and  justify  David’s  exclamation,  “  Oh,  that 
one  would  give  me  water  to  drink  of  the  well  of  Bethlehem  !  ” 
Why  he  or  anyone  should  ask  to  drink  water  from  a  cistern 
by  the  town’s  gate  it  is  difficult  to  understand,  unless  it  be 
indeed  but  another  way  of  expressing  a  desire  that  the  gate, 
and  therefore  the  town,  might  be  recaptured  from  the 
Philistines. 

However  that  may  be,  I  was  repelled  by  the  appearance 
of  the  dirty,  stagnant  pool,  shown  to  us  as  the  historic  well, 
and  asked  the  custodian  whether  this  was  indeed  a  well  or 
only  a  tank.  The  old  man  replied  without  hesitation  that 
it  was  only  a  tank.  “  But,”  he  added,  pointing  his  thumb 
over  his  shoulder  at  the  establishment  across  the  road,  “  no 
more  is  his  ;  the  only  difference  is  that  our  water  comes  off 
the  roof,  and  his  ’’  (with  an  accent  of  supreme  contempt) 
“  comes  off  the  road.” 

From  David’s  Well  we  went  to  the  Church  of  the  Nativity. 
It  is  a  building  of  the  greatest  interest,  and  I  could  not  but 
regret  that  our  moments  there  were  so  brief.  In  spite  of 
dilapidations  and  repairs  and  restorations,  it  remains  a  sixth- 
century,  and  in  part  a  fourth-century  church,  and  an  example 
of  the  earliest  Christian  architecture.  The  nave,  as  we  enter, 
is  noble  in  its  simplicity,  and  before  the  modern  wall  was 
built,  which  now  cuts  off  the  eastern  part  of  the  church,  the 
effect  of  this  simplicity  leading  up  to  the  mystery  and 
gorgeousness  which  surround  the  high  altar  must  have  been 
beautiful  indeed. 

The  nave  is  separated  from  the  double  aisles  by  rows  of 
great  red  marble  pillars  twenty  feet  high,  the  shaft  of  each 
being  cut  from  a  single  stone.  Hanna  solemnly  assured  us 
that  these  pillars  had  been  brought  there  from  Solomon’s 
Temple. 

From  the  nave  we  passed  to  the  transept  and  choir,  and 
with  this  part  of  the  church  I  was  deeply  impressed.  The 


A  DRIVE  TO  BETHLEHEM 


193 


architectural  details  may  be  read  in  any  descriptive  hand¬ 
book,  but  the  picturesqueness  of  the  scene  and  the 
mysterious  beauty  and  venerable  antiquity  of  its  setting  are 
what  can  never  be  conveyed.  Armenians  and  Greeks  both 
have  altars  here,  and  service  was  going  on  at  each.  The 
church  was  alive  with  a  crowd,  or  rather  several  crowds — 
groups  and  knots  of  folk  in  curious  Eastern  dress,  various 
in  their  fashion,  brilliant  in  their  colouring.  Priests 
gorgeously  arrayed,  pictures,  mosaics,  multitudinous  burning 
candles  and  swinging  censers,  the  dazzling  light  broken  by 
intense  mysterious  shadows,  and  the  air  sweet  and  dim  with 
scented  vapour,  combined  to  produce  an  effect  phantas¬ 
magoric  and  dreamlike,  taking  possession  of  the  imagination 
and  suggesting  more  than  can  ever  be  expressed.  The 
church  itself  was  obscured  as  to  its  symmetry,  screens 
breaking  its  unity,  doorways  leading  into  mystery,  flights  of 
steps  in  unexpected  places  diving  into  darkness,  everywhere 
that  disorder  in  the  midst  of  order,  that  uncompleted,  frag¬ 
mentary,  dimly-hinted  harmony  which  is  so  stimulating  to 
the  fancy,  and  so  emblematic  of  the  orderly  disorder  of  the 
strange  world  in  which  we  live.  One  felt,  indeed,  that  we 
had  something  here  which  transcended  the  mere  historical 
question  of  the  manger ;  we  had  an  embodiment  of  the 
great  idea  of  the  manger — the  idea,  vital  and  vitalising 
throughout  the  Christian  centuries — the  Incarnation  of  the 
Divine. 

One  grim  fact,  however,  amid  all  the  gorgeous  confusion 
remained  very  obvious  and  very  literal — two  Mohammedan 
soldiers  sitting  upon  a  stone  bench  to  keep  order  among 
the  Christians.  Hanna  pointed  out  a  strip  of  carpet  laid 
diagonally  which  marked  the  line  where  the  Latin 
Christians  may  tread,  and  beyond  which  they  must  not 
wander.  Only  Greeks  and  Armenians  worship  here,  the 
Latins  have  a  chapel  of  their  own  adjoining  the  choir  but 
beyond  and  outside  it  on  the  north.  From  that  chapel  the 
Latins  can  descend  by  their  own  steps  to  the  crypt  of  the 
manger,  lest  if  they  used  the  other  flight,  which  descends 
to  the  same  crypt  from  the  Greek  choir,  Greeks  and  Latins 
should  come  into  conflict,  as  indeed,  notwithstanding  these 
precautions,  they  often  do. 

We  descended  to  the  crypt  by  the  stone  staircase  just 
mentioned,  very  steep  and  very  worn,  and  found  ourselves 
in  a  small  dark  cavern,  lighted  by  the  dim  flames  of  fifteen 
oil  lamps  suspended  from  the  roof.  A  silver  star  in  the 

N 


194 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


floor  marks  the  spot  where  Christ  was  brought  forth  by  the 
Virgin.  Then  down  three  steps  we  passed  into  a  recess 
where  a  ragged  hole  in  the  rock  showed  where  the  manger 
had  been  before  it  was  cut  out  and  carried  to  Rome. 
Thence  proceeding  through  long  and  winding  passages 
past  several  spots  having  scriptural  events  assigned  to  them 
(all  crowded  for  convenience  into  the  one  cavern)  we 
arrived  at  one  which  I  had  much  desired  to  see — the  Cell 
of  St.  Jerome.  For  St.  Jerome  believed  in  the  cavern  and 
the  manger  and  the  Divine  Babe,  and  here  he  is  said  to 
have  lived  and  written  many  of  his  works  and  died.  To 
my  horror,  however,  I  found  that  the  rocky  walls  of  the 
cell  had  been  carefully  stuccoed  in  recent  years,  and  that 
the  whole  now  formed  a  neat  and  symmetrical  little  chapel, 
the  only  remaining  antiquity  being  a  flight  of  rock-cut 
steps  leading  to  the  cell  from  above,  much  worn,  and 
exhibited  now  through  a  pane  of  glass  like  a  sixpenny  show. 
Alas  for  prose  and  vulgarity  ! 

Our  regret  would  be  keener  if  we  were  more  certain  about 
the  cell.  It  does  not  seem  to  be  mentioned  in  literature 
earlier  than  the  fifteenth  century,  and  in  the  more  ancient 
records  of  his  life  Jerome’s  residence  at  Bethlehem  is  stated 
to  have  been  in  the  monastery  which  his  disciple,  the  Lady 
Paula,  built.  So  that  even  here,  as  almost  everywhere  in 
Palestine,  we  find  ourselves  once  more  on  doubtful  ground. 

This  was  our  last  day  with  Hanna.  When  we  returned 
to  Jerusalem,  we  found  there  the  well-known  geographer 
and  scholar  and  ourvery  good  friend,  Professor  George  Adam 
Smith,  with  a  large  party  about  to  start  upon  a  long  tour. 
To  them  we  handed  over  our  faithful  and  experienced 
guide,  and  engaged  instead  for  the  small  remainder  of  our 
stay  in  Palestine  a  young  dragoman  named  Nassar. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 


A  DRIVE  TO  HEBRON 

On  the  following  day,  being  April  nth,  we  took  the  long 
drive  to  Hebron  and  back,  with  our  new  dragoman  on  the 
box.  The  first  part  of  the  way  is  identical  with  that  which 
we  had  traversed  the  day  before  ;  but  at  a  distance  of  four 
miles  or  thereabouts  from  Jerusalem  the  road  forks;  the 
left-hand  road,  which  we  had  already  travelled,  being  the 
way  to  Bethlehem,  the  right-hand,  which  we  now  followed, 
being  the  high-road  to  Hebron. 

About  three  miles  beyond  this  fork  we  reached  the  Pools 
of  Solomon,  which  were  among  the  principal  objects  of  our 
excursion.  Near  to  the  pools  and  hard  by  the  roadside  is  a 
square  castle,  erected,  it  is  said,  as  a  protection  against  the 
Bedawin,  but  used  now  as  a  khan,  though  some  portion 
must,  I  think,  be  retained  as  a  lock-up,  for  just  as  we  reached 
it  a  prisoner  handcuffed  and  bound  about  the  arms  was 
marched  toward  the  gateway  between  Turkish  guards.  Just 
before  they  entered,  as  though  he  knew  it  to  be  his  last 
chance,  the  wretched-looking  captive  made  a  dart  for  liberty, 
but  was  recaptured  before  he  had  taken  many  steps. 

Alongside  the  walls  of  the  castle  runs  a  stream  of  water, 
fed  from  a  fountain  known  as  “  The  Sealed  Spring,”  and 
conducted  into  a  little  old  conduit  which  passes  almost 
close  to  the  Pools  of  Solomon. 

The  great  pools  themselves  are  three  in  number.  They 
are,  I  suppose,  ascribed  to  Solomon  merely  because  they  are 
large  and  magnificent,  and  because  Ecclesiastes,  the  pseudo- 
Solomon,  says  that  he  made  him  “pools  of  water.”  Their 
real  date  no  one  knows.  They  are  said  to  show  traces  of 
Saracenic  workmanship,  but  that  must  surely  be  the  result 
of  repairs  or  restoration  ;  for  it  is  certain  that  the  aqueduct, 
large  sections  of  which  still  remain  between  this  place  and 
Jerusalem,  brought  water  hence  to  the  Temple;  and  it  seems 
likely  that  the  pools,  which  form  part  of  the  same  water 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


1 96 

system,  also  existed  when  the  Temple  service  was  still  per¬ 
formed.  One  may  guess  that  they  were  made,  or  at  any 
rate  enlarged,  by  that  great  builder  Herod,  though  it  is 
likely  enough  that  pools  existed  here  at  an  earlier  date. 

A  theory  has  been  entertained  that  the  lowest  pool 
which  is  a  splendid  basin  nearly  six  hundred  feet  long 
and  over  two  hundred  feet  broad  at  the  larger  end,  was  used 
as  an  amphitheatre  for  naval  displays,  the  steps  or  terraces 
which  form  the  sides  and  one  end  of  the  pool  being  intended 
to  seat  the  spectators.  It  occurred  to  me,  however,  to  com¬ 
pare  these  steps  with  the  natural  terraces  of  the  limestone 
slopes  which  adjoin  the  pools,  and  I  am  quite  convinced 
that  the  steps  both  of  the  middle  and  lowest  pools,  the  two 
which  are  thus  terraced,  are  continuous  with  the  layers  of 
limestone  of  the  adjacent  hillsides  ;  they  are,  in  fact,  formed 
by  the  native  rock  being  cased  over  with  masonry  to  save 
the  labour  of  cutting  it  away  (Fig.  51). 

Resuming  our  journey  we  passed  sundry  places  of  his¬ 
torical  or  legendary  interests.  Some  bits  of  old  wall,  great 
numbers  of  hewn  stones,  and  many  rock-tombs  represented 
Gedor  of  Joshua.  Then,  on  the  left,  Nassar  pointed  out 
Ain-ed-Dirweh,  the  spring  in  which  Philip  is  said  by 
Eusebius  to  have  baptised  the  eunuch,  and  opposite  to  it 
on  the  right,  standing  conspicuously  on  a  hill  a  bit  of  a 
ragged  old  tower  marked  the  site  of  Beth-Zur,  famous  in  the 
Maccabean  Wars. 

Just  before  reaching  Hebron,  Nassar  showed  us  on  the 
left  of  the  road  what  he  called  the  Terebinth  of  Abraham — 
a  tree  of  no  great  age  or  size,  close  to  a  small  half-ruined 
mosque  or  weli,  backed  on  the  hillside  by  a  village  which  he 
dubbed  Ramet  el-Khalil — a  good  illustration  of  the  way  in 
which  dragomans’  fancies  caused  the  sacred  sites  to  shift 
and  change  their  places  to  the  bewilderment  of  travellers  ; 
for  the  place  corresponded  neither  with  the  description  of 
Dean  Stanley  nor  the  instructions  of  Baedeker,  and  by  sub¬ 
sequent  inquiries  made  in  the  town  we  afterwards  found 
the  true  spot. 

As  to  the  traditional  oak,  that  corresponds  neither  with 
Nassar's  terebinth  nor  with  Dean  Stanley's  Grove  of  Mamre  ; 
j it  lies  to  the  north-west  of  Hebron  at  the  distance  of  a  mile 
and  a  half.  We  did  not  visit  it,  since  it  can  claim  no 
interest  beyond  that  of  having  been  gazed  upon  by  pilgrims 
and  tourists  for  some  four  or  five  centuries.  Even  if 
Abraham  were  accepted  as  a  flesh-and-blood  patriarch 


A  DRIVE  TO  HEBRON 


197 

living  at  the  time  assigned  to  him  by  Archbishop  Ussher, 
the  difficulty  would  remain  that  the  “  Oaks  "  of  Mamre  were 
not  oaks  at  all,  but  terebinths,  while  the  dying  monarch 
whose  remnants  are  still  visited  by  tourists  is  a  true  oak. 
Leaving,  therefore,  the  whole  question  of  Mamre  and  its 
terebinths  until  our  return  journey,  we  made  our  way  with 
all  speed  into  Hebron — the  “  City  of  God's  friend,"  as  the 
Moslems  call  it. 

The  ancient  city  lay  to  the  west  of  the  modern  town,  on 
the  olive-coloured  hills  across  the  valley.  This  is  proved  by 
the  existence  there  of  mural  fragments  of  great  antiquity. 
In  the  low  ground  between  the  ancient  and  the  modern 
cities  lie  the  two  pools,  one  of  which,  at  least,  dates  from 
Old  Testament  times,  while  the  Haram,  which  covers  the 
traditional  Cave  of  Machpelah,  lies  on  the  eastern  border  of 
modern  Hebron,  and  is  far  removed  from  the  ancient  city. 

Previous  to  visiting  these  antiquities,  we  betook  ourselves 
for  luncheon  to  the  upper  room  of  a  small  Jewish  hostel 
kept  by  a  veritable  Shylock.  Hooked  nose,  thin  and  fur¬ 
rowed  face,  avaricious  eyes,  straggling  ragged  locks,  side 
curls,  fur  cap,  and  long  gaberdine  clothing  a  bent,  spare 
figure,  formed  an  exaggerated  edition  of  the  traditional 
stage-Jew.  The  room  was  hung  with  Hebrew  samplers  of 
quaint  design.  The  wine,  which  the  old  man  sold  at  an 
exorbitant  price,  was  a  light  hock  made  by  the  Jews  of 
Hebron  from  the  famous  grapes  of  Eschol. 

Such  at  least  is  the  belief  of  those  who  hold  that  the  ten 
miles  of  vineyards  through  which  we  had  lately  passed  do 
verily  lie  in  the  Valley  of  Eshcol,  and  that  the  Spring  of 
Kashkaleh,  at  the  head  of  that  valley,  is  no  other  than  the 
“  brook  of  Eshcol,"  unto  which  the  twelve  spies  came,  “  and 
cut  down  from  thence  a  branch  with  one  cluster  of  grapes, 
and  they  bare  it  between  two  upon  a  staff."  Dr.  Thomson 
solemnly  remarks  that  he  has  not  seen  a  cluster  of  that  size 
in  the  neighbourhood,  nevertheless  he  accepts  the  branch  of 
grapes  by  faith. 

However  that  may  be,  the  land  is  to-day  a  land  of  vine¬ 
yards,  and  in  connection  with  that  fact  a  curious  little  bit 
of  etymology  noted  by  Dr.  Thomson  may  be  mentioned. 
The  Moslems  as  well  as  the  Jews  grow  vines  ;  but  as  they 
do  not  make  wine,  those  grapes  which  are  not  disposed  of 
by  them  in  the  market  or  dried  into  raisins,  are  boiled  down 
into  a  kind  of  thick  molasses.  This  substance  is  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  Bible  under  the  Hebrew  name  “  debash," 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


198 

in  some  passages  translated  u  honey/’  in  others  11  grape- 
syrup/’  but  the  word  is  in  fact  akin  to  the  old  school-boy 
word  “  dibs/’  which  in  my  boyhood  was  the  common  term 
for  “  treacle  ”  among  the  junior  fraternity. 

The  room  in  which  we  lunched  opened  on  a  stone  ter¬ 
race  which  overlooked  the  roofs  of  some  of  the  neighbour¬ 
ing  houses.  Strolling  out  there  after  lunch  I  beheld  a 
beautiful  and  truly  Oriental  scene.  On  the  flat  roof  of  an 
adjoining  dwelling  stood  a  very  lovely  Jewish  girl,  with  long 
luxuriant  hair  streaming  in  waves  of  raven  blackness  over 
her  shoulders  and  below  her  waist.  She  wore  a  loose, 
flimsy,  orange-coloured  robe,  hanging  in  graceful  folds  from 
neck  to  ankle.  Leisurely  and  gracefully  she  moved  to  and 
fro,  hanging  over  the  low  parapet  which  surrounded  the 
roof  some  long  gaberdines  and  other  garments  striped  in  all 
the  colours  of  the  rainbow.  The  picture  was  lighted  by 
dazzling  sunshine,  while  a  palm  tree  planted  beside  the 
house  lifted  its  curved  and  feathery  fronds  to  form  a  canopy 
above  the  roof,  flecking  the  girl’s  face  and  neck  with  shadow 
as  they  waved  in  the  gentle  breeze.  One  thought  of  the 
story  of  Bath-sheba,  and  how  David  saw  her  as  he  “  walked 
upon  the  roof  of  the  king’s  house.”  These  houses,  built  on 
the  hillside,  looked  down  the  one  upon  the  other,  just  as  in 
Jerusalem  at  this  day  the  people  who  live  near  the  city-walls 
do  not  iike  strangers  to  walk  there,  lestithey  should  pry  upon 
the  privacy  of  domestic  life. 

From  the  same  terrace  of  our  khan  we  had  a  wide  view 
over  the  city,  its  houses  flat-roofed  or  crowned  by  the  low 
white  dome  which,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  timber  for  beams, 
is  characteristic  of  Southern  Palestine.  Palms  and  orange 
trees  grow  among  the  dwellings,  the  low  rounded  hills  of 
Judaea  formed  a  background  of  hazy  blue,  and  below  us, 
shaded  by  surrounding  buildings,  the  cool  waters  of  one  of 
the  ancient  pools  rippled  in  the  breeze. 

To  this  pool  we  now  descended,  leaving  our  cloaks  and 
travelling-gear  in  the  care  of  the  old  Jew.  Its  modern  name 
is  Birket-el-Kazzazin  :  the  Arabic  “Birket”  corresponding 
to  the  Hebrew  u  B’recah,”  which  is  applied  to  the  Hebron 
Pool  in  2  Sam.  iv.  12,  and  indeed  to  all  such  artificial  reser¬ 
voirs  throughout  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  It  was 
doubtless  by  one  of  these  two  pools  of  Hebron  that  David 
hanged  Rechab  and  Baanah,  the  murderers  of  Ishbosheth, 
Saul’s  crippled  son.  The  “  King’s  Pool  ”  is  the  one  with 
which  tradition  associates  the  event,  but  that  is  probably 


FIG.  52. — UPPER  POOL  OF  HEBRON 


FIG  53.  POOL  OF  HEZEKIAH 


A  DRIVE  TO  HEBRON 


199 

because  it  is  the  larger.  The  upper  and  smaller  pool  has 
the  more  ancient  appearance  ;  and,  though  the  whole  matter 
must  be  almost  entirely  guesswork,  still  the  small  and  quaint 
and  unpretending  belong  usually  to  an  earlier  stage  of 
society  than  the  magnificent  (Fig.  52). 

From  the  Upper  Pool,  which  lies  to  the  west  of  the  present 
town,  we  pass  by  winding  and  narrow  streets  to  the  Haram 
on  the  east.  From  the  ancient  city  this  would  be  half  a  mile 
distant  at  the  least,  but  that,  of  course,  would  be  nothing 
exceptional  for  a  place  of  sepulture,  such  as  the  traditional 
Cave  of  Machpelah,  whatever  be  its  true  history  or  origin, 
undoubtedly  was.  In  approaching  its  venerable  walls,  one 
would  fain  share  Dean  Stanley’s  enthusiasm  and  awe  when 
he  exclaims  that  it  is  u  marvellous  to  think  that  within  the 
massive  enclosure  of  that  mosque  lies,  possibly,  not  merely 
the  last  dust  of  Abraham  and  Isaac,  but  the  very  body — the 
mummy — the  embalmed  bones  of  Jacob,  brought  in  solemn 
state  from  Egypt  to  this  (as  it  was)  lonely  and  beautiful 
spot.”  But  the  later  study  of  Bible  literature,  and  the 
advance  in  comparative  religion  and  folklore,  forbid  11s  to 
indulge  in  such  fascinating  dreams.  The  most  that  we  are 
permitted  now  to  believe  is  that  Abraham  may  be  a  genuine 
personal  name,  and  that  there  may  be  a  kernel  of  tradition 
in  the  patriarchal  narratives.  For  the  rest,  the  Father  of 
the  Faithful  was  probably  the  object  of  a  kind  of  national 
cultus,  and  this  cultus  was  probably  performed  at  Machpe¬ 
lah.  But  “  that  the  traditional  hero  was  actually  buried  there 
cannot  be  affirmed.  Even  among  the  Arabs  there  is  hardly 
one  well-authenticated  case  of  a  tribe  which  possessed  a 
really  ancient  tradition  as  to  the  place  where  the  tribal  an¬ 
cestor  was  interred.”* 

However  this  in  truth  maybe,  there  is  no  doubt  at  all 
that  the  historic  building  before  whose  walls  we  now  stand 
is  one  of  the  most  ancient  places  of  worship  in  the  world. 
Even  in  David’s  time  it  was  already  looked  upon  as  a  place 
of  primeval  sanctity.  In  the  Gospels  it  is  not  mentioned  ; 
but  we  know  from  the  pages  of  Josephus  that  in  New  Testa¬ 
ment  times  the  tombs  of  the  patriarchs  were  shown  there  ; 
and  though  Jesus  perhaps  never  travelled  so  far  south,  the 
knowledge  that  among  the  southern  hills  which  He  looked 
upon  from  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  or  the  heights  of  Olivet, 
there  lay  that  hoary  city,  grey  with  the  burden  of  centuries, 
holy  before  Jerusalem  itself  was  holy,  must  have  entered 
*  Cheyne,  art.  “  Abraham  ”  in  “  Encycl.  Bibl.” 


200 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


into  His  consciousness  and  contributed  to  the  creation 
of  that  awful  patriotism  which  brought  Him  to  his  death. 

We  had  engaged  a  Turkish  guard  to  accompany  us,  as 
the  Mohammedans  of  Hebron  are  extremely  fanatical,  and 
as  we  approached  the  steps  which  lead  to  the  mosque,  our 
soldier-guide  pointed  out  to  us  the  limit  to  which  the  infidel 
may  go.  Only  to  Ihe  seventh  step  may  the  unbeliever 
ascend,  and  since  we  were  sceptics  even  among  the  unbe¬ 
lievers,  we  allowed  ourselves  only  to  the  fifth.  Opposite 
the  fifth  step  is  a  hole  in  the  wall,  said  to  extend  down  to 
the  tomb  of  Abraham  ;  but  the  hole,  like  so  many  other 
matters  in  the  region  of  faith,  was  perfectly  dark,  and,  peer 
as  we  might  into  the  sanctified  orifice,  neither  perception 
nor  understanding  gained  aught  for  all  our  gazing. 

It  was  something,  however,  to  see  the  enclosing  walls  of 
the  holy  place.  The  masonry  of  it  is  superb,  the  stones 
comparable  with  those  of  the  Wailing  Place  in  Jerusalem. 
In  fact  this  also  is  a  wailing-place,  for  here  as  well  as  at 
Jerusalem  the  Jews  meet  to  pray  and  weep  over  their 
departed  glories. 

Leaving  the  Haram,  we  visited  the  King’s  Pool,  which 
lies  in  the  west  of  the  town — a  fine  reservoir,  much  larger 
than  the  Upper  Pool  which  we  had  already  seen.  As  we 
stood  there,  a  procession  passed  us — a  disorderly  stream, 
hurrying  through  the  glare  and  dust,  and  sending  up  as  it 
went  a  loud  and  unmusical  wailing.  We  soon  perceived 
that  it  was  a  funeral  procession  hastening  towards  the 
Mohammedan  cemetery  which  lies  on  the  north-west  of  the 
town.  In  their  midst  was  carried  the  corpse,  stretched 
upon  a  rude  bier.  Their  rapid  pace,  their  fierce  fanatical 
faces,  and  the  weird  noise  of  their  dirge,  combined  to  pro¬ 
duce  an  effect  strangely  foreign  to  all  our  associations 
with  a  scene  of  mourning.  Here  in  Hebron  the  sound  of 
this  customary  sing-songdamentation,  always  demanded  by 
Eastern  opinion,  reminded  us  of  the  story  of  Abraham  ; 
how  u  Sarah  died  in  Hebron  :  and  Abraham  came  to  mourn 
for  Sarah  and  to  weep  for  her.” 

Returning  to  Shylock's  house,  we  suddenly  found  our¬ 
selves  in  the  centre  of  a  brawl.  For  some  unexplained 
reason  Nassar  and  the  Jew  danced  round  each  other  shout¬ 
ing  unspeakable  epithets  of  which  we  did  not  understand  a 
word,  while  an  admiring  group  of  picturesque  natives 
formed  a  ring  round  the  two  vituperators.  A  momentary 
lull  occurring,  we  managed  to  learn  that  the  Jew  had 


A  DRIVE  TO  HEBRON 


201 


impounded  all  our  traps  and  was  doubling  his  fees  before 
he  would  let  them  go.  In  the  end  the  Jew  got  the  best  of 
it,  and  Nassarwith  a  crestfallen  air  was  forced  to  pay  the 
coins  which  the  Jew  demanded.  We  then  mounted  our 
carriage  with  our  property  and  commenced  our  homeward 
journey. 

In  Hebron  our  young  dragoman  had  succeeded  in  dis¬ 
covering  the  whereabouts  of  the  true  Ramet  el-Khalil,  and 
soon  after  leaving  the  town  to  return  to  Jerusalem  we  stopped 
at  a  rough  track  which  led  off  the  main  road  to  the  right, 
and  at  a  distance  of  300  yards  found  the  spot  described  by 
Dean  Stanley.  It  is  sufficiently  identified  by  the  cistern 
and  two  ancient  oil-presses,  although  the  courses  of  stones 
which  were  in  situ  when  Stanley  went  there  are  now 
thrown  down,  and  the  walls  of  the  enclosure  almost  level 
with  the  ground.  I  suppose  that  the  materials  have  gone 
to  build  up  the  boundary  walls  of  the  neighbouring  fields 
and  vineyards,  for  the  place  is  not  now  bare  and  solitary  as 
it  once  was,  but  in  the  midst  of  cultivated  ground.  This  is 
certainly  the  traditional  Mamre  according  to  the  Jews,  and 
is  probably  the  spot  mentioned  by  Josephus  where  in  his 
time  the  great  terebinth  (not  oak)  was  standing,  although 
he  places  it  at  six  furlongs  from  Hebron,  which  is  a  good 
deal  below  the  mark.  The  people  of  Hebron,  so  Nassar 
ascertained,  call  the  place  “  The  Grove  of  Abram"  and  the 
surrounding  country  “The  Valley  of  Terebinths."  The 
peasants  working  in  the  fields  hard  by  told  us  that  the  place 
is  never  visited  nowadays  by  travellers,  but  that  the  Jews 
come  up  there  periodically  to  pray.  To  us  the  main  interest 
is  that,  whatever  be  the  literal  truth  concerning  the  history 
of  Abram,  it  is  practically  certain  that  in  New  Testament 
times  this  is  the  spot  which  was  recognised  as  Mamre, 
where  Abram  had  “dwelt  by  the  terebinths,"  and  where  he 
had  entertained  angels  unawares. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

JERUSALEM— IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA 

Jerusalem  is  built  upon  a  limestone  rock,  almost  devoid  of 
water  ;  and  the  supply  of  that  prime  necessity  of  life  has 
always  been  one  of  the  city's  chief  problems.  St.  Mary’s 
Well  in  the  Kidron  Valley  is  the  only  natural  spring  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood,  and  that  spring  is  some  little 
distance  beyond  the  walls.  In  the  great  days  of  the  capital, 
when  it  was  still  alive  and  vigorous,  aqueducts  brought 
water  from  distant  sources,  and  mighty  reservoirs  were 
built  in  which  rain-water  was  collected,  and  so  the  daily 
wants  of  the  city  as  well  as  the  needs  of  the  elaborate  cere¬ 
monial  washings  in  the  Temple-service  were  successfully  met; 
but  now  that  the  community  is  languishing  under  an  oppres¬ 
sive  and  bankrupt  government  and  deprived  of  all  natural 
initiative,  it  suffers  much  from  drought  and  from  epidemics 
occasioned  by  the  filthy  state  of  the  half-ruined  cisterns  out 
of  which  the  people  draw  nearly  all  their  water. 

Since  our  visit  to  the  East  something  indeed  has  been 
done  to  remedy  this  state  of  things,  though  the  supply,  I  am 
told,  is  still  most  inadequate.  The  drought  from  which  the 
people  were  suffering  during  our  visit  led  to  a  certain 
expenditure  upon  the  water  supply.  A  great  part  of  the 
money  assigned  for  this  purpose  found  its  way,  as  usual, 
into  the  pockets  of  Turkish  officials,  but  enough  was  left 
to  carry  out  the  design  of  bringing  water  by  a  line  of  pipes 
from  the  springs  near  Solomon’s  Pools ;  not  enough,  how¬ 
ever,  to  lay  the  pipes  properly  ;  instead  of  being  buried  to  a 
sufficient  depth  in  the  soil  they  were  laid  on  the  burning 
surface  of  the  ground,  and  now  a  small  stream  of  water 
does,  indeed,  arrive  in  Jerusalem,  but  it  arrives  there 
hot.* 

*  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  in  1904 
it  was  stated  that  £6000  had  been  spent  in  laying  these  pipes,  with  the 
result  that  the  supply  was  far  inferior  to  what  might  have  been  obtained 
by  the  repair  of  the  old  Herodian  aqueduct. 


JERUSALEM— IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA  203 

On  the  day  after  our  drive  to  Hebron  we  devoted  the 
morning  to  visiting  certain  of  the  ancient  pools,  not,  how¬ 
ever,  with  reference  to  the  modern  water  supply,  but  with 
reference  to  biblical,  and  especially  New  Testament  history. 
In  particular,  the  vexed  question  of  Bethesda  was  present  to 
my  mind,  and  all  the  pools  but  one  which  we  went  to  see 
had  some  bearing  upon  that  question. 

Our  guide  Nassar,  having  been  informed  of  our  desire, 
led  us  first  down  Christian  Street,  crowded  now  with  a 
motley  and  unruly  stream  of  beasts  and  people,  for  Easter 
was  at  hand.  Russians,  Armenians,  Jews,  Turks,  English¬ 
men  and  Americans,  were  mingled  with  sheep,  donkeys  and 
camels ;  and  all  were  jostling  and  pushing  without  respect 
of  persons  and  with  no  rule  of  the  road  whatever.  “Take 
care  of  your  pockets/'  said  Nassar  as  we  plunged  into  the 
melee  and  forced  our  way  along  the  bazaar. 

Presently  he  paused  before  a  shop  where  a  Turk  was 
making  coffee,  said  a  few  words  to  the  proprietor,  and  we 
were  forthwith  conducted  through  the  premises  to  a  long 
gallery  behind,  which  overhung  an  enormous  reservoir  of 
antique  appearance.  This  was  the  famous  “  Pool  of 
Hezekiah,"  sometimes  called  the  “  Patriarch's  Pool,"  though 
the  natives  more  correctly  termed  it  the  “  Pool  of  the 
Patriarch's  Bath,"  a  name  derived  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
used  for  filling  a  smaller  pool  to  the  south-east  of  Christian 
Street,  known  as  the  “Bath  of  the  Patriarch."  Josephus 
calls  it  the  Pool  Amygdalon,  which  one  would  guess,  but 
guess  wrongly,  to  mean  the  Pool  of  Almond-trees.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  it  was  known  in  Josephus'  day  as  the  Pool  of 
the  Towers,  but  because  he  wrote  in  Greek  the  historian  saw 
fit  to  change  the  late  Hebrew  Migdalin  (towers)  into  the  Greek 
Amygdalon  (of  almond-trees).  It  is  very  interesting  to  note 
that  as  we  look  across  the  pool  towards  the  south-west 
corner,  we  see  rising  above  the  surrounding  buildings  the 
so-called  “Tower  of  David,"  which  is  in  reality  no  other 
than  the  Tower  Phasaelus,  one  of  the  three  towers 
built  by  Herod,  the  proximity  of  which  gave  the  pool  its 
name  (Fig.  53). 

“  Hezekiali’s  Pool "  probably  existed  long  before  the 
time  of  Josephus,  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  it  dates 
back  to  the  days  of  the  monarch  whose  name  it  now  bears. 
Its  popular  designation  is  derived  from  the  surmises  of 
earlier  topographers,*  who  argued  as  follows.  In  Hezekiah's 
*  See  “  The  Land  and  the  Book,”  1866,  p.  655. 


204 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


time  there  was  a  pool  called  the  Upper  Pool,  which  had  a 
conduit  and  was  near  a  highway  (Isa.  xxxvi.,  2).  Hezekiah 
stopped  the  upper  watercourse  of  Gihon  and  brought  it 
“  straight  down  to  the  west  side  of  the  city  of  David  ” 
(2  Chron.  xxxii.  30).  Now,  the  Patriarch’s  Pool  has  a  con¬ 
duit,  for  it  is  fed  by  one  to  this  day  from  the  Birket  Mamilla, 
which  thus  brings  water  “  straight  down  to  the  west  side  of 
the  city  of  David.”  Therefore  the  Birket  Mamilla  is  the 
Upper  Pool  of  Gihon,  and  the  Patriarch’s  Pool  is  the  pool 
into  which  Hezekiah  conducted  its  water. 

This  whole  argument,  however,  rests  upon  the  theory 
that  the  City  of  David  was  situated  on  the  western  hill, 
whereas  it  seems  now  to  be  satisfactorily  made  out  that  it 
lay  on  the  eastern  hill,  and  that  the  passages  quoted  above 
refer  to  the  spring  in  the  Kidron  Valley  already  mentioned, 
from  which  spring  an  ancient  conduit  brings  the  water 
westward  to  the  Pool  of  Siloam  at  the  foot  of  Ophel.* 

We  cannot,  therefore,  definitely  connect  the  noble  “  Pool 
of  Hezekiah”  with  Old  Testament  history,  but  with  New 
Testament  history,  or  at  any  rate  New  Testament  times,  we 
can  ;  and  it  is  with  supreme  interest  that  we  realise  that  we 
have  here  a  veritable  bit  of  old  Jerusalem,  and  that  Jesus 
Himself  must  often  have  stood  beside  these  waters  and  seen 
that  self-same  tower  of  Herod’s  palace  rising  as  it  does  to¬ 
day  above  the  surrounding  buildings. 

It  did  not,  however,  in  His  day  present  precisely  the  same 
appearance  ;  for  this  pool,  as  we  learn  from  Josephus,  was 
one  of  the  Columbethrai,  or  swimming-pools  of  Jerusalem. 
It  was  surrounded,  therefore,  not  by  these  grey  walls  with 
their  projecting  casements  and  tufts  of  hanging  weed,  but 
by  cloisters  or  “  porches  ”  where  the  bathers  dressed  and 
undressed  and  lounged  in  the  welcome  shade.  In  this  fact 
we  already  have  a  reminder  of  the  “  porches”  of  Bethesda, 
although  this  particular  pool  is  not  one  of  the  claimants  to 
the  honours  of  that  poetic  site. 

It  is  so  quiet  here  and  so  impressive,  that  one  could 
linger  for  hours  endeavouring  to  recall  in  imagination  the 
“year  of  the  Lord”;  but  our  time  is  brief,  so  we  return 
shortly  to  the  scrimmage  of  Christian  Street,  and  turning 
presently  to  the  right,  into  the  north-eastern  or  Moslem 
quarter,  we  find  ourselves  in  the  far-famed  Via  Dolorosa, 

*  For  a  clear  statement,  by  the  late  W.  Robertson  Smith,  of  the 
grounds  of  this  theory,  see  “  Encycl.  Brit.,”  9th  edition,  art. 
“Jerusalem.” 


JERUSALEM— IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA  205 

one  of  the  most  picturesque  streets  in  the  city,  spanned  as 
it  is  in  parts  by  huge  flying  buttresses,  passing  up  and 
down  ancient  stairways,  and  plunging  through  dark 
mysterious  archways. 

This  street,  which  is  generally  marked  erroneously  upon 
the  maps  as  though  it  touched  the  very  boundary  of  the 
city  at  the  eastern  gate  of  St.  Stephen,  extends  properly  only 
from  the  barracks  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  Temple 
area  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  The  street  is 
named,  of  course,  in  accordance  with  the  theory  that  the 
Praetorium  where  Jesus  was  tried  was  at  the  Fortress 
of  Antonia,  which  was  situated  where  the  Turkish 
barracks  now  stand,  and  that  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  marks  the  place  where  He  was  crucified.  But  the 
more  probable  theory  is  that  Pilate's  Praetorium  was  at 
the  Palace  of  Herod,  just  by  that  ancient  tower  which  we 
saw  a  few  minutes  since  near  the  Pool  of  Amygdalon,  and 
that  Jesus  was  crucified  on  the  north  of  the  city.  Yet,  even 
on  this  latter  hypothesis  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  street 
after  all  is  rightly  named,  for,  after  the  trial  at  Pilate's 
Praetorium,  it  is  likely  enough  that  the  victim  would  be  con¬ 
ducted  to  Antonia,  where  the  two  robbers  were  imprisoned, 
and  that  the  whole  procession  would  pass  thence  by  the 
northern  gate  of  the  city  to  the  place  of  execution.  Thus, 
in  either  case,  this  street,  or  part  of  it,  would  have  to  be 
traversed. 

However,  the  actual  roadway  which  those  sacred  feet 
trod  so  painfully  is  some  yards  below  the  present  surface  ; 
and  when  the  houses  are  different,  the  street  different,  and 
the  whole  surroundings  different,  one  cannot  feel  that  thrill 
which  the  actual  scene  and  situation  would  bring.  The 
so-called  Ecce  Homo  Arch,  which  spans  the  street  near  the 
site  of  Antonia,  is  a  Roman  triumphal  arch  of  later  date,  and 
the  “  Stations  of  the  Cross  "  with  which  the  street  is  marked 
at  intervals  are,  of  course,  vain  imaginations. 

At  the  Ecce  Homo  Arch,  just  mentioned,  we  may  pause 
for  a  moment,  for  here  we  are  near  to  the  first  of  our  Pools 
of  Bethesda.  We  are  near  to  it,  but  cannot  see  it,  for  at 
the  present  time  it  lies  below  ground.  Warren  rediscovered 
and  explored  it  in  1867.  He  found  it  to  be  a  “  double 
pool" — two  pools,  in  fact,  cut  side  by  side  in  the  rock,  with 
a  pier  of  masonry  running  up  the  centre,  and  arches  thrown 
over  them.  They  lie  partly  beneath  the  convent  of  the 
Sisters  of  Zion,  the  building  on  our  left,  and  partly  beneath 


206 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  street  in  which  we  stand,  and  they  are  known  now  as 
the  Twin  Pools.  They  measure,  taken  together,  165  feet 
by  48  feet,  and  they  still  supply  the  sisterhood  with  water 
for  every  purpose  but  drinking. 

We  have  direct  evidence  that  in  the  fourth  century  these 
twin  pools  were  believed  to  be  the  Pool  of  Bethesda,  for 
they  were  visited  as  such  and  described  by  the  Bordeaux 
Pilgrim  (a.d.  333).  The  Pilgrim  mentions  a  curious  fact 
about  them,  namely,  that  “  these  pools  have  water  which, 
when  agitated,  is  of  a  kind  of  red  colour."  Eusebius  also 
mentions  the  redness  of  one  of  the  pools.  The  phenomenon 
was  probably  due  to  heavy  rain  bringing  the  red  earth 
down  the  aqueduct  which  fed  the  pool ;  but,  according  to 
Eusebius,  it  was  popularly  believed  that  the  redness  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  pool  was  near  the  sheep-gate,  and 
that  “  it  therefore  retains  to  this  day  a  trace  of  the  victims 
that  were  formerly  cleaned  in  it."  *  One  can  understand 
how  this  feature  of  the  place  would  help  the  belief  that 
this  was  Bethesda. 

There  are  grounds  for  believing  that  this  double  pool  was 
in  existence  long  before  the  Pilgrim's  date — in  fact,  quite  at 
the  beginning  of  our  era ;  and,  if  it  is  identical  with  the 
Pool  Stronthion  mentioned  by  Josephus  (and  its  situation 
corresponds  with  that)  we  may  take  its  existence  at  that 
time  as  certain.  Add  to  this,  that  the  form  of  the  pool 
admits  of  “five  porches,"  one  on  each  of  the  four  sides  and 
a  fifth  on  the  dividing  wall  of  rock,  and  one  appears  to 
have  strong  grounds  for  identifying  it  with  Bethesda. t 
However,  for  the  present  we  will  hold  our  judgment  upon 
the  Bethesda  question  in  suspense,  for  there  are  two  other 
pools  in  the  neighbourhood  which  we  must  now  visit. 

Leaving  the  Sisters  of  Zion,  with  their  twin  pools, 
behind  us,  we  pass  now  beneath  the  well-known  Ecce 
Homo  Arch,  a  triumphal  arch  built,  according  to  M. 
Ganneau,  to  celebrate  the  suppression  of  the  great  revolt 
under  the  pseudo-Messiah  Bar  Cochba.t  We  have  now 
upon  our  right  hand  the  Turkish  barracks,  standing  upon 
the  very  rock  whereon  the  Roman  barracks  stood  in  the 
days  of  Jesus — the  historic  fortress  of  Antonia.  We  are 
walking,  in  fact,  upon  the  filled-up  fosse  which  separated 
that  fortress  from  the  fine  new  suburb  called  “  Bezetha," 

*  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  pp.  197,  198. 

f  For  further  pros,  and  cons,  see  Appendix  E. 

%  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  Mem.,  “Jerusalem  Vol.,’J  p.  212. 


JERUSALEM— IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA  207 

which  had  then  only  recently  sprung  up.  A  little  further 
and  we  glance  down  a  turning  upon  our  right.  It  is  a  short 
narrow  lane,  with  a  gateway  at  the  far  end.  That  gateway 
none  but  the  faithful  may  pass  to-day,  for  it  is  one  of  the 
northern  entrances  to  the  Haram  esh-Sherif,  and  to-day 
the  Moslems  are  holding  a  sacred  festival  there  ;  to  enter 
it,  the  dragoman  assures  us,  would  be  our  death.  It 
reminds  us  how  a  still  more  ancient  people  once  held  that 
same  area  for  their  worship,  and  how  with  them  also  the 
law  was  death  for  an  unbeliever  to  enter  the  sacred 
inclosure — not,  indeed,  in  their  case,  the  outer  court,  but 
the  central  part  of  it,  the  sacred  500  cubits.  Just  thirty 
years  ago,  very  near  the  spot  where  we  are  standing,*  an 
inscribed  stone  was  discovered,  which  bore  in  Greek  letters 
the  following  inscription  : 

“No  stranger  is  to  enter  within  the  balustrade  round  the 
Temple  and  inc.losure.  Whoever  is  caught  will  be  responsible 
to  himself  for  his  death,  which  will  ensue." 

That  very  tablet,  it  is  likely  enough,  faced  Paul  on  the 
day  when  he  entered  the  Temple  precincts  and  when  the 
Jews  attacked  and  sought  to  kill  him  because  he  had  intro¬ 
duced,  as  they  believed,  a  Gentile  into  the  inclosure.  And 
it  is  interesting  to  remember  that  the  Apostle  was  rescued 
by  the  intervention  of  a  tribune  and  band  of  soldiers,  who 
were  quartered  in  that  same  fortress  of  Antonia,  overlooking 
the  Temple  area,  whose  site  and  successor  we  have  this 
moment  passed. 

A  few  steps  more  and  we  come  upon  our  right  to  the 
Birket  Israin,  our  second  Pool  of  Bethesda.  The  tradition, 
however,  assigning  the  Bethesda  miracle  to  this  spot  cannot 
be  traced  further  back  than  the  thirteenth  century.  It  was 
probably  not  until  the  Twin  Pools  and  the  Pool  of  St. 
Anne  (to  be  presently  described)  had  become  buried  and 
lost  to  sight  that  the  name  Bethesda  was  attached  to  this 
place. 

The  pool,  however,  is  very  much  more  ancient  than  the 
tradition.  It  is  true  that  the  portion  of  the  Haram  wall 
which  now  forms  its  southern  side  was  probably  not  built 
till  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century,  when  this  north¬ 
eastern  corner  of  the  sacred  inclosure  was  completed  (as  is 
supposed)  by  El-Walid,  the  son  of  Abd  el-Melik,  but  the 
eastern  wall  which  cuts  across  the  little  side  valley  in  which 

*  It  was  found  by  M.  Clermont-Ganneau  in  the  Moslem  graveyard 
near  the  barracks. 


208 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  pool  is  contained,  dates  from  Hadrian  ;  and,  what  is 
more  to  the  point,  the  pool  itself  is  found  to  be  rock-cut, 
and  may  very  well  be  much  older  than  either  wall. 

However,  there  is  no  possibility  here  of  “  five  porches," 
nor  is  there  anything  to  be  said  in  favour  of  the  Birket 
Israin  which  does  not  apply  with  greater  force  to  the 
“Twin  Pools."  So  we  proceed  to  the  third  Bethesda,  that 
which  lies  within  the  precincts  of  the  Church  of  St.  Anne. 

We  reach  the  church  by  turning  off  to  the  left  a  little 
before  we  come  to  the  Gate  of  St.  Stephen.  We  are 
immediately  conducted  to  a  courtyard,  or  small  quadrangle, 
to  the  west  of  the  church,  at  one  side  of  which  is  a  flight  of 
steps  leading  down  to  the  pool.  What  we  find  at  the 
bottom  of  the  steps  is  a  rock-hewn  cistern,  arched  over 
with  masonry  in  the  manner  of  a  crypt.  And  a  crypt  it 
actually  is,  for  the  pool  was  originally  beneath  the  church, 
the  courtyard  already  mentioned  being  in  fact  the  roofless 
remains  of  the  old  Crusading  sanctuary,  upon  the  ruined 
wall  of  which  we  could  even  now  trace  portions  of  an 
ancient  fresco  representing  the  angel  descending  to  trouble 
the  water. 

This,  then,  is  the  twelfth-century  Bethesda  ;  what  are  its 
claims  ?  One  argument  brought  forward  in  its  favour  is  that 
it  has  five  porches,  which,  though  of  the  Crusading  period, 
are  “  reconstructed  on  old  bases."  *  This  does  not  go  for 
much,  since  the  twelfth-century  church  here  was  a  re¬ 
building  of  an  earlier  seventh-century  church,  which  would 
account  for  the  “  older  bases  "  without  supposing  them  to 
belong  to  a  KoXvfi [3r/0 pa.  Another  argument  is  that  since 
Beit-Hanna  and  Beth-Hesda  both  mean  “  House  of  Mercy," 
the  dedication  of  the  church  to  St.  Anne  is  an  indication  of 
its  earlier  name.  This,  again,  is  rather  far-fetched.  A 
third  proof  is  supposed  to  be  found  in  the  discovery  of  a 
marble  foot  bearing  an  inscription  to  the  effect  that  a  certain 
Pompeia  Lucilia  was  cured  here. 

But  the  really  strong  argument  seems  to  me  to  consist  in 
the  fact  that  this, too,  is  a  double  pool,  and  a  much  larger  one 
than  that  beneath  the  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Zion.  The 
five  porches  cannot  in  reality  be  seen  now,  but  the  form  of 
the  pool  was  the  only  form  admitting  of  the  arrangement 
of  five  colonnades  around  the  water.  Only  one  pool  is  now 
uncovered,  but  the  other  is  known  to  exist  beside  it ;  it  may 
be  that  when  the  Bordeaux  Pilgrim  passed  it,  one-half  was 
*  Rev.  R.  Lees,  “Jerusalem  Illustrated,”  p.  146. 


FIG.  54  —  ENTRANCE 


TO  THE  VIRGIN’S  SPRING 


FIG.  55.-  HKZEKIAH’S  CONDUI'l 


JERUSALEM — IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA  209 

covered  as  it  now  is,  and  that  this  is  why  the  smaller  Twin 
Pool  was  chosen  at  that  time  as  the  true  Bethesda.  On  the 
whole,  we  may  say  that  of  the  three  pools  which  we  have 
considered,  this  one  at  the  Church  of  St.  Anne,  from  its 
situation,  its  size,  and  its  shape,  has  the  greatest  claim  to  be 
considered  as  the  true  Bethesda. 

But  now  it  was  time  for  us  to  examine  the  evidential  value 
of  a  phenomenon  different  from  any  which  we  had  yet  con¬ 
sidered  ;  accordingly  we  directed  Nassar  to  guide  us,  next, 
to  the  intermittent  spring  in  the  valley  of  the  Kidron  known 
as  St.  Mary’s  Well  or  the  Virgin's  Fount. 

It  was  already  nearing  the  hour  at  which  the  water  usually 
rose  ;  we  hurried,  therefore,  through  the  Gate  of  St.  Stephen, 
and  by  the  shortest  path  along  the  Kidron  slopes  to  the 
Virgin's  Spring.  The  spring  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to 
the  south  of  the  Haram,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  Ophel.  It 
is  almost  in  the  bottom  of  the  Kidron  Valley,  looking  up  to 
the  little  village  of  Siloam  on  the  east,  and  to  the  city  walls 
on  the  north  and  north-west.  The  fountain  is  underground, 
the  approach  to  it  being  a  flight  of  thirty  steps  cut  in  the 
rock,  and  going  down  into  the  darkness,  on  which  account 
the  Arabs  call  it  “  The  Spring  of  the  Mother  of  Steps" 
(Fig.  54).  At  the  bottom  of  the  steps  you  stand  upon  a  small 
platform,  or  landing,  where  the  rock  is  levelled.  In  front 
of  you  is  the  mouth  of  a  tunnel ;  beside  you,  close  to  your 
feet,  is  a  small  boring,  or  well  (Fig.  55).  The  tunnel  is  the 
conduit  cut  through  the  rock  by  Hezekiah,  and  leading  by 
a  serpentine  course  down  to  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  which  lies 
something  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  further  down  the 
valley  ;  the  well  is  the  opening  through  which  the  water 
rises,  overflowing  into  the  tunnel  when  it  reaches  the  level 
of  the  platform,  and  running  in  a  stream  to  fill  the  Siloam 
Pool. 

The  history  of  this  spring  and  conduit  is  exceedingly  in¬ 
teresting.  It  is  one  of  the  few  tolerably  clear  and  almost 
undisputed  points  in  the  topography  of  Jerusalem  ;  for  there 
can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  this  is  the  conduit  mentioned  in 
2  Kings  xx.  20, 11  Now  the  rest  of  the  acts  of  Hezekiah,  and 
all  his  might,  and  how  he  made  the  pool,  and  the  conduit, 
and  brought  water  into  the  city,  are  they  not  written  in  the 
Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  ?"  The  pool 
here  mentioned  is  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  and  the  conduit  is  the 
tunnel  through  which  the  “Virgin's  Fountain"  feeds  it.  In 
August  1880  an  inscription  was  found  on  the  wall  of  the 

o 


210 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


tunnel  about  19  feet  from  the  Siloam  end,  the  oldest  Hebrew 
inscription  known,  which  gives  an  account  of  the  making  of 
the  tunnel.  The  forms  of  the  letters  are  like  those  of  the 
Moabite  stone,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  dates  from  the 
days  of  Hezekiah.  It  reads  as  follows  : 

“  Behold  the  piercing  through  !  Now  this  was  the  manner 
of  the  piercing  through.  While  [the  hewers  were  lifting  up] 
the  pick,  each  towards  his  fellow,  and  while  there  were  yet 
three  cubits  to  be  trodden  through,  there  was  heard  the  voice 
of  each  man  calling  to  his  fellow,  for  there  was  a  [fissure]  in 
the  rock  on  the  right  hand  [and  on  the  left],  and  on  the  day 
of  the  piercing  through,  the  hewers  smote,  each  to  meet  his 
fellow,  pick  to  pick  ;  and  then  flowed  the  waters  from  their 
channel  to  the  pool  twelve  hundred  cubits  ;  and  [three 
fourths]  of  a  cubit  was  the  height  of  the  rock  on  the  head 
of  the  hewers.” 

The  meeting  each  other  and  breaking  through  was  evi¬ 
dently  a  triumph.  And,  indeed,  one  can  see  with  the  bodily 
eyes  what  desperate  efforts  these  primitive  engineers  had  to 
make  in  order  to  effect  this  meeting  ;  for  the  blind  turnings 
and  offsets  where  they  had  gone  astray  in  their  direction  still 
remain  in  the  tunnel,  as  also  do  the  perpendicular  shafts 
reaching  to  the  upper  air,  which  the  two  parties  had  con¬ 
structed  in  order  to  ascertain  where  they  respectively  were, 
and  in  which  direction  they  must  correct  their  work  in  order 
to  meet  at  last. 

Hezekiah's  object  in  making  the  tunnel  was  to  bring  the 
water  within  the  walls  of  the  city  without  its  being  available 
to  a  besieging  army.  Before  his  day  the  water  had  ap¬ 
parently  been  brought  down  by  an  open  conduit,  the  remains 
of  which  still  exist ;  now  that  channel  was  disused,  the  spring 
was  buried,  and  its  waters  were  brought  by  the  underground 
conduit  to  a  pool  within  the  city  walls.  The  pool  in  question 
was  that  which  was  afterwards  called  the  Pool  of  Siloam, 
but  in  Hezekiah's  day  seems  to  have  been  called  the  King's 
Pool.  The  city  walls  which  now  crown  the  summit  of  the 
hill  came  in  that  day  to  the  foot  of  the  slope,  and  old  founda¬ 
tions  seem  clearly  to  show  that  they  did  actually  encircle 
the  pool  as  implied  in  the  passage  quoted  from  the  Book  of 
Kings. 

Here,  then,  was  the  conduit  which  Hezekiah  had  made, 
and  here  was  the  spring  which  it  conveyed  to  Siloam. 
Its  intermittent  character  was  the  point  which  we  had  to 
examine,  for  this  it  is  which  has  induced  some  biblical 


JERUSALEM— IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA  211 

topographers  to  identify  it  with  Bethesda.  The  waters  were 
said  to  rise  generally  at  about  eleven  o’clock,  and  it  was  now 
ten  minutes  to  the  hour  ;  we  anxiously  inquired  therefore 
of  some  natives  standing  near  the  entrance  whether  the 
fountain  had  risen.  Alas  !  we  were  a  quarter  of  an  hour  too 
late.  Well,  it  was  useless  to  wait,  for  it  was  the  time  of 
year  when  the  flow  only  takes  place  at  intervals  of  four  or 
five  hours.  All  we  could  do  was  to  come  again  another 
day,  and  content  ourselves  that  morning  with  a  visit  to 
Siloam. 

Before  proceeding,  however,  to  the  pool  in  question  we 
lingered  a  little,  looking  at  the  strange  ways  of  the  villagers 
who  were  gathered  at  the  well.  Some  rough  Arab  boys 
were  dancing  just  in  the  arch  of  the  tunnel,  looking  very 
much  like  savages  in  a  cave  as  they  waved  their  arms  to 
and  fro  and  chanted  a  wild  melody.  Then  came  a  mother 
with  her  boy  ;  he  stripped,  and  passing  into  the  tunnel 
stood  in  a  pool  which  the  overflow  had  formed  on  the 
uneven  floor.  The  woman  proceeded  to  pour  water  over 
her  son  in  the  fashion  of  the  old  pictures  of  John  baptising 
Christ,  and  we  remembered  that  to  this  day  the  waters  of 
this  spring  are  sacred  and  are  believed  by  the  natives  to 
have  healing  powers.  Then  came  a  middle-aged  woman, 
one  of  the  Siloam  villagers,  to  fill  her  water-skin.  While 
she  was  there  I  was  proceeding  to  photograph  the  arch  of 
the  conduit,  when  immediately  she  fell  into  a  passion  of 
anger.  Screaming,  shouting,  and  gesticulating  violently, 
she  pointed  at  me  and  my  camera,  and  it  was  evident  that 
I  was  giving  unspeakable  offence.  I  thought  that  she  might 
be  under  the  impression  that  I  was  photographing  her,  as 
to  this  many  of  the  women  object;  but  Nassar  said  this 
had  nothing  to  do  with  her  rage  ;  she  was  complaining 
that  it  was  because  travellers  came  making  pictures  of  the 
place  that  the  water  had  of  late  so  woefully  failed. 

This  was  the  second  strange  reason  that  we  had  heard 
that  morning  for  the  failure  of  the  water  ;  for,  at  the  church 
of  St.  Anne,  a  Jerusalem  resident  of  the  better  class  had 
assured  us  that  St.  Mary’s  Well  had  failed  ever  since  the 
Pool  of  St.  Anne  was  uncovered,  proving,  as  he  considered, 
a  causal  connection  between  the  two  events  !  Two  other 
reasons  were  supplied  by  Nassar,  for  he  said  that  some  of 
the  folk  believed  that  a  magician  had  come  and  taken  away 
a  treasure  that  was  hidden  there  and  had  left  a  curse  behind 
him  ;  and  that  others  held  that  the  failure  of  the  water  was 


212 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


due  to  the  removal  of  the  ancient  inscription  from  the  wall 
of  the  tunnel  (for  the  Hebrew  inscription  mentioned  above 
was  cut  out  of  the  rock  by  the  Turkish  Governor  and  sent 
to  Constantinople,  being  broken  of  course  in  the  process). 
Little  incidents  like  this,  which  are  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  Palestine  travel,  bring  home  to  one  how  devoid  the 
Palestinian  is  of  any  notion  of  cause  and  effect.  He  remains, 
indeed,  to-day  just  what  he  was  of  old  when  he  “  demanded 
a  sign,"  living  in  a  world  of  arbitrary  and  chaotic  occur¬ 
rence,  and  seeing  the  supernatural  everywhere  around 
him. 

The  true  cause  of  the  spring's  failure  has  since  been  dis¬ 
covered.  A  fissure  had  occurred  in  the  rock,  and  the  water 
escaped  through  it  before  it  reached  the  u  Mother  of 
Steps.’'  The  crack  has  now  been  mended,  and  the  stream 
has  returned  to  its  former  abundance.* 

My  good-hearted  companion  thought  to  soften  the  heart 
of  the  wild  woman  by  offering  to  fill  her  water-skin,  but 
his  offers  were  angrily  rejected.  Possibly  the  frantic  gesti¬ 
culations  by  which  he  earnestly  sought  to  make  the  Arab 
woman  understand  English  were  not  altogether  so  soothing 
as  they  were  meant  to  be.  So,  we  left  her  to  her  rage  and 
bent  our  steps  toward  Siloam. 

But  now,  before  we  leave  St.  Mary's  Well,  let  us  take  a 
farewell  glance  at  this  fourth  claimant  to  the  honours  of 
Bethesda — at  the  heaps  of  earth  and  rubble,  the  narrow 
opening  of  the  stairway,  the  steep  descent  to  the  dark 
tunnel.  Do  these  things  fit  the  Bethesda  story  ?  There 
are  ruins  of  a  mosque  near  by,  but  no  traces  of  a  pool  with 
stoae  ;  and  the  well  itself,  ever  since  the  days  of  Hezekiah, 
has  apparently  been  underground.  It  is  conceivable, 
indeed,  that  further  excavation  might  bring  unknown  things 
to  light ;  but  so  far  as  present  evidence  goes,  the  probability 
would  seem  to  be  that  this  superincumbent  mass  of  earth 

*  The  intermittent  character  of  the  spring  is  due  to  a  siphon-action, 
which  arises  from  the  position  and  nature  of  the  source  in  relation  to 
the  outlet.  The  water  of  the  spring  is  derived  from  a  slow  accumula¬ 
tion  in  a  limestone  cavity  within  the  rock  on  which  the  city  is  built. 
This  cavity  is  high  above  the  valley  where  the  fountain  issues.  As 
soon  as  the  water  has  accumulated  to  such  a  height  as  to  reach  the  lip 
of  the  rocky  basin,  it  begins  to  flow  down  the  precipitous  and  narrow 
channel  to  the  point  of  outlet ;  the  siphon-action  then  comes  into  play 
and  completely  empties  the  basin,  so  that  no  further  flow  can  take 
place  until  this  natural  cistern  has  once  more  been  filled  by  the  slow 
tricklings  from  the  surrounding  rock. 


FIG.  56. — THE  OLD  POOL 


■ 


. 


' 


. 


■ 


. 


:  2  fi 


JERUSALEM— IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA  213 

and  stone  was  piled  there  by  Hezekiah  himself  when  he 
buried  the  spring  to  withdraw  it  from  his  enemies.  And 
looking  at  the  well  itself,  with  its  long  steep  stairway  and 
the  confinement  of  its  spring,  is  it  possible  that  a  colum- 
bethra  with  its  stoae  could  ever  have  pertained  to  such 
a  “  pool  ” — if  pool  it  can  be  called  ?  The  narrowness  of 
the  stairway  fits  in,  it  is  true,  with  the  difficulty  of  the  poor 
man  in  getting  to  the  water  before  his  stronger  fellows, 
but  that  feature  is  not  by  any  means  needed  to  explain  his 
perplexity,  it  is  sufficiently  explained  in  the  words  u  I  have 
no  man  when  the  water  is  troubled  to  put  me  into  the 
pool.”  In  fact  the  one  and  only  thing  in  favour  of  this 
spring  is  the  intermittent  troubling  of  the  water  ;  unless, 
indeed,  we  add  that  which  it  shares  with  other  pools  (the 
Hammam  esh-Shifa,  for  instance),  a  reputation  for  healing 
properties. 

From  St.  Mary's  Well  we  proceeded  to  a  still  lower 
point  in  the  valley  where  there  is  a  pool  of  some  size 
formed  by  a  strong  masonry  dam  across  the  depression. 
It  is  situated  just  where  the  Tyropceon  opens  into  the 
Kidron  Valley,  and  on  maps  it  is  marked  as  “  Old  Pool ” 
(Fig.  56).  How  old  it  really  is  seems  to  be  an  unanswered 
question  :  the  masonry  of  the  dam  is  extremely  massive, 
and  is  pronounced  by  the  highest  authorities  to  be  ik  prob¬ 
ably  of  great  antiquity.”*  It  may  be  the  “  King’s  Pool  ” 
which  Nehemiah  visited  on  his  night  journey  when  he 
viewed  the  ruined  walls  of  Jerusalem  (Neh.  ii.  14),  and  it 
may  also  be  the  u  Pool  of  Solomon”  where  Josephus  says 
the  city  wall  took  a  bend.  But  some  find  these  sites  at 
Siloam,  and  others  at  St.  Mary’s  Well. 

Ascending  now  the  slope  towards  the  city,  we  arrive  in  a 
few  moments  at  the  Pool  of  Siloam  (Fig.  57).  This  is  one  of 
the  few  undisputed  sites  in  the  topography  of  Jerusalem. 
It  retains  its  old  name,  for  the  Arabs  know  it  as  Silwan,  and 
it  has  an  unbroken  chain  of  tradition  for  over  eighteen 
centuries.  But  what  we  see  is  at  first  disappointing.  It  is 
little  but  a  pitful  of  loose  stones,  for  the  sides  have  for  the 
most  part  fallen  in,  and  the  building-stones  which  lined  it 
are  worn  and  rounded.  These  are,  in  fact,  pot  the  walls 
of  the  Ko\vfifiyfipa  which  Jesus  knew  ;  they  are  modern  walls 
hastily  piled  up  from  the  ruined  remains  of  Crusaders’  and 
Saracens’  work  :  the  masonry  of  Jesus’  time  is  gone. 

Yet  the  spot  is  the  same  ;  and  both  the  pool  and  its  sur- 
*  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  Mem.,  “  Jerusalem  Vol.,”  p.  346. 


212 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


due  to  the  removal  of  the  ancient  inscription  from  the  wall 
of  the  tunnel  (for  the  Hebrew  inscription  mentioned  above 
was  cut  out  of  the  rock  by  the  Turkish  Governor  and  sent 
to  Constantinople,  being  broken  of  course  in  the  process). 
Little  incidents  like  this,  which  are  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  Palestine  travel,  bring  home  to  one  how  devoid  the 
Palestinian  is  of  any  notion  of  cause  and  effect.  He  remains, 
indeed,  to-day  just  what  he  was  of  old  when  he  “  demanded 
a  sign/'  living  in  a  world  of  arbitrary  and  chaotic  occur¬ 
rence,  and  seeing  the  supernatural  everywhere  around 
him. 

The  true  cause  of  the  spring's  failure  has  since  been  dis¬ 
covered.  A  fissure  had  occurred  in  the  rock,  and  the  water 
escaped  through  it  before  it  reached  the  “  Mother  of 
Steps.”  The  crack  has  now  been  mended,  and  the  stream 
has  returned  to  its  former  abundance.* 

My  good-hearted  companion  thought  to  soften  the  heart 
of  the  wild  woman  by  offering  to  fill  her  water-skin,  but 
his  offers  were  angrily  rejected.  Possibly  the  frantic  gesti¬ 
culations  by  which  he  earnestly  sought  to  make  the  Arab 
woman  understand  English  were  not  altogether  so  soothing 
as  they  were  meant  to  be.  So,  we  left  her  to  her  rage  and 
bent  our  steps  toward  Siloam. 

But  now,  before  we  leave  St.  Mary's  Well,  let  us  take  a 
farewell  glance  at  this  fourth  claimant  to  the  honours  of 
Bethesda — at  the  heaps  of  earth  and  rubble,  the  narrow 
opening  of  the  stairway,  the  steep  descent  to  the  dark 
tunnel.  Do  these  things  fit  the  Bethesda  story  ?  There 
are  ruins  of  a  mosque  near  by,  but  no  traces  of  a  pool  with 
stoae  ;  and  the  well  itself,  ever  since  the  days  of  Hezekiah, 
has  apparently  been  underground.  It  is  conceivable, 
indeed,  that  further  excavation  might  bring  unknown  things 
to  light ;  but  so  far  as  present  evidence  goes,  the  probability 
would  seem  to  be  that  this  superincumbent  mass  of  earth 

*  The  intermittent  character  of  the  spring  is  due  to  a  siphon-action, 
which  arises  from  the  position  and  nature  of  the  source  in  relation  to 
the  outlet.  The  water  of  the  spring  is  derived  from  a  slow  accumula¬ 
tion  in  a  limestone  cavity  within  the  rock  on  which  the  city  is  built. 
This  cavity  is  high  above  the  valley  where  the  fountain  issues.  As 
soon  as  the  water  has  accumulated  to  such  a  height  as  to  reach  the  lip 
of  the  rocky  basin,  it  begins  to  flow  down  the  precipitous  and  narrow 
channel  to  the  point  of  outlet ;  the  siphon-action  then  comes  into  play 
and  completely  empties  the  basin,  so  that  no  further  flow  can  take 
place  until  this  natural  cistern  has  once  more  been  filled  by  the  slow 
tricklings  from  the  surrounding  rock. 


FIG.  56. — THE  OLD  POOL 


FIG.  57. — THE  POOL  OF  SILOAM 


JERUSALEM— IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA  213 

and  stone  was  piled  there  by  Hezekiah  himself  when  he 
buried  the  spring  to  withdraw  it  from  his  enemies.  And 
looking  at  the  well  itself,  with  its  long  steep  stairway  and 
the  confinement  of  its  spring,  is  it  possible  that  a  colum- 
bethra  with  its  stoae  could  ever  have  pertained  to  such 
a  “  pool  '' — if  pool  it  can  be  called  ?  The  narrowness  of 
the  stairway  fits  in,  it  is  true,  with  the  difficulty  of  the  poor 
man  in  getting  to  the  water  before  his  stronger  fellows, 
but  that  feature  is  not  by  any  means  needed  to  explain  his 
perplexity,  it  is  sufficiently  explained  in  the  words  “  I  have 
no  man  when  the  water  is  troubled  to  put  me  into  the 
pool.''  In  fact  the  one  and  only  thing  in  favour  of  this 
spring  is  the  intermittent  troubling  of  the  water  ;  unless, 
indeed,  we  add  that  which  it  shares  with  other  pools  (the 
Hammam  esh-Shifa,  for  instance),  a  reputation  for  healing 
properties. 

From  St.  Mary's  Well  we  proceeded  to  a  still  lower 
point  in  the  valley  where  there  is  a  pool  of  some  size 
formed  by  a  strong  masonry  dam  across  the  depression. 
It  is  situated  just  where  the  Tyropoeon  opens  into  the 
Kidron  Valley,  and  on  maps  it  is  marked  as  “  Old  Pool " 
(Fig.  56).  How  old  it  really  is  seems  to  be  an  unanswered 
question  :  the  masonry  of  the  dam  is  extremely  massive, 
and  is  pronounced  by  the  highest  authorities  to  be  li  prob¬ 
ably  of  great  antiquity.”*  It  may  be  the  “  King's  Pool  '' 
which  Nehemiah  visited  on  his  night  journey  when  he 
viewed  the  ruined  walls  of  Jerusalem  (Neh.  ii.  14),  and  it 
may  also  be  the  u  Pool  of  Solomon”  where  Josephus  says 
the  city  wall  took  a  bend.  But  some  find  these  sites  at 
Siloam,  and  others  at  St.  Mary's  Well. 

Ascending  now  the  slope  towards  the  city,  we  arrive  in  a 
few  moments  at  the  Pool  of  Siloam  (Fig.  57).  This  is  one  of 
the  few  undisputed  sites  in  the  topography  of  Jerusalem. 
It  retains  its  old  name,  for  the  Arabs  know  it  as  Silwan,  and 
it  has  an  unbroken  chain  of  tradition  for  over  eighteen 
centuries.  But  what  we  see  is  at  first  disappointing.  It  is 
little  but  a  pitful  of  loose  stones,  for  the  sides  have  for  the 
most  part  fallen  in,  and  the  building-stones  which  lined  it 
are  worn  and  rounded.  These  are,  in  fact,  pot  the  walls 
of  the  KoXv/xfajOpa  which  Jesus  knew  ;  they  are  modern  walls 
hastily  piled  up  from  the  ruined  remains  of  Crusaders’  and 
Saracens'  work  :  the  masonry  of  Jesus'  time  is  gone. 

Yet  the  spot  is  the  same  ;  and  both  the  pool  and  its  sur- 
*  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  Mem.,  “  Jerusalem  Vol.,”  p.  346. 


214 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


roundings  can  be  reconstructed  in  the  mind,  as  we  stand 
and  look  around  us. 

Picture,  then,  a  pool  fifty-two  feet  square  (for  that  was  its 
original  size  as  proved  by  excavation).  It  is  cut  in  the  solid 
rock,  and  enclosed  by  colonnades.  Northward  rises  the 
slope  of  Ophel,  that  spur  of  the  Temple-hill  which  we  still 
see  crowned  by  the  walls  of  the  Haram.  The  east  side  of 
that  spur,  from  Siloam  where  we  stand  to  the  Upper  Gihon 
which  we  have  just  left,  is  adorned  by  the  King's  Gardens, 
rising  terrace  above  terrace.  Ophel  itself  is  covered  with 
houses,  for  here  are  the  priests'  quarters.  Down  the  centre 
of  the  slope  comes  a  street  of  steps,  descending  from  the 
Temple  to  the  pool — “  the  stairs  of  the  City  of  David." 

We  may  imagine  that  it  is  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  and 
“  the  last,  the  great  day  of  the  Feast."  That  wall  up  yonder 
is  the  same  boundary  and  in  part  the  identical  wall  which 
enclosed  the  Temple  in  the  days  of  Jesus.  There  is  a  gate¬ 
way  in  that  wall  which  has  existed  from  His  days  to  ours, 
though  it  is  to-day  no  longer  open.  But  as  we  gaze  toward 
it,  imagination  sees  its  doors  swing  apart,  and  down  the 
stairs  of  the  long  slope  a  procession  comes  to  the  sound  of 
a  flute  and  the  chanting  of  a  weird  old  Hebrew  psalm.  The 
procession  is  headed  by  a  priest  bearing  a  small  golden 
pitcher.  The  people  behind  him  carry  in  their  right  hand  a 
triple  spray — myrtle,  palm,  and  willow  tied  together — and 
in  their  left  hand  a  fruit-bough  with  the  fruit  upon  it. 

Down  the  steep,  terraced  street,  between  the  houses  of 
Ophel,  the  procession  advances  towards  us.  At  this  ancient 
Pool  of  Siloam  it  pauses.  The  priest  fills  his  pitcher  with 
the  sweet  clean  water,  and  then  the  company  returns, 
timing  its  ascent  of  the  slope  so  as  to  arrive  at  the  Temple- 
gate  just  as  the  morning  sacrifice  is  ready  for  the  burning. 
As  they  cross  the  threshold  the  trumpets  sound  a  three-fold 
blast,  the  golden  pitcher  is  borne  to  the  altar,  and  the  water 
of  Siloam  is  there  poured  out  before  the  Lord,  while  the 
chant  of  the  Great  Hallel  rises  into  the  air,  the  voice  of  the 
Levites  crying,  “  Praise,  O  ye  servants  of  the  Lord,  praise 
the  name  of  the  Lord,"  and  all  the  people  responding  with 
one  voice,  “  Praise  ye  the  Lord."* 

Apart  from  the  Bethesda  question,  the  chief  New  Testa¬ 
ment  interest  attaching  to  Siloam  is  the  story  of  the 
blind  man  whose  eyes  Jesus  anointed  with  clay,  u  and 
said  unto  him,  Go,  wash  in  the  pool  of  Siloam  (which  is  by 
*  See  Edersheim’s  “Jesus  the  Messiah,”  gth  ed.,  vol.  ii.  p.  159. 


JERUSALEM— IN  SEARCH  OF  BETHESDA  215 

interpretation  sent)."  The  story  is  obviously  symbolical. 
Jesus  as  Light,  Jesus  as  Water,  two  of  the  Evangelist's  most 
favourite  symbols  come  into  its  symbolism.  The  “sent" 
waters  of  the  Conduit,  the  “  sent"  Messiah  of  God — such  is 
the  parallel  implied  in  his  “interpretation  "  of  Siloam.  But 
the  narrative  may  nevertheless  be  based  on  fact.  Siloam 
even  in  Jesus'  day  was  venerable  and  sacred  ;  its  waters 
even  then  were  believed  to  have  healing  properties ;  the  use 
of  spittle,  too,  as  a  healing  agent  is  quite  consistent  with 
historical  probability  ;  Jesus  shared  with  His  contemporaries 
these  associations  and  beliefs.  For  my  part  I  have  confi¬ 
dence  enough  in  the  truth  of  the  basic  event  to  look  with 
interest  on  the  ancient  pool  and  picture  the  poor  man 
washing  the  clay  from  his  eyes  in  hope  of  healing. 

But  now,  what  of  Bethesda  ?  Well ;  I  do  not  remember 
to  have  seen  Siloam  claimed  as  the  true  Bethesda,  and  yet 
to  myself  it  seems  the  most  likely  site  of  all.  The  whole 
story,  it  is  true,  is  more  or  less  of  a  poem  ;  we  must  not 
therefore  look  to  find  all  its  details  to  fit  this  or  any  other 
scene ;  but,  taking  it  as  in  its  main  features  historical,  the 
one  salient  point  is  the  troubling  of  the  water.  And  this 
troubling  was  evidently  intermittent,  lasting  but  a  short 
time,  and,  when  over,  involving  another  long  wait  before  it 
occurred  again.  Now,  the  Virgin's  Fount  is  not  the  only 
place  where  such  an  intermittent  “  troubling  "  would  occur  ; 
the  connection  of  that  fount  with  Siloam  would  produce  a 
corresponding  troubling  in  the  pool.  Whenever  the  foun¬ 
tain  rose,  the  water  rushing  down  the  conduit  to  the  pool 
occasioned  a  corresponding  troubling  there.  In  fact  the 
word  “  troubling  ”  {orav  rapa\0y  to  vSajp)  fits  the  pool  far 
better  than  it  does  the  spring.  The  spring  is  not  merely 
“  troubled,"  it  bursts  upwards — rises — overflows  (as  I  myself 
saw  on  a  subsequent  day),  but  the  pool  is  “moved"  or 
“  troubled,"  precisely  that  and  no  more. 

And  Siloam  was  a  columbethra  :  it  was  a  swimming-pool, 
with  porches  :  Josephus  explicitly  names  it  as  such.  No 
other  columbethra  of  Jerusalem,  no  other  pool,  at  least, 
which  we  know  to  have  been  such,  shows  this  intermittent 
troubling.*  This  one  salient  feature,  then,  outweighs  in  my 

*  It  has  been  stated  that  the  Hammam  Esh-Shifa  is  an  intermittent 
spring  (“  Recent  Discoveries  on  the  Temple  Hill,”  by  Rev.  J,  King, 
1884,  p.  1 17).  If  this  were  so,  the  claims  of  that  pool  would  have  to  be 
more  closely  considered.  It  could  hardly,  however,  claim  to  have  been  a 
<u\vixftr)6i>a,  which  is  a  serious  objection  to  identifying  it  with  Bethesda. 


2l6 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


mind  all  other  considerations  and  assures  me  that  if  the  story 
is  based  on  fact  at  all,  it  was  at  this  Pool  of  Siloam  that  the 
incident  actually  occurred. 

There  is  the  difficulty,  no  doubt,  that  the  Evangelist  knew 
Siloam,  and  speaks  of  it  elsewhere  by  its  proper  name. 
Why,  then,  should  he  call  the  same  pool  in  this  passage  by 
the  name  “  Bethesda  ”  ?  But  this  difficulty  disappears  when 
we  remember  the  character  and  origin  of  the  Fourth  Gospel. 
That  Gospel  we  take  to  be  founded  upon  fragmentary 
materials,  partly  common  to  the  Synoptics,  partly  belonging 
to  a  different  line  of  tradition  ;  it  is,  possible,  therefore,  that 
the  fragment  which  recorded  this  healing  act  at  the  pool  of 
troubled  waters  did  not  name  the  pool.  In  such  a  case  it 
would  be  in  the  manner  of  the  allegorist  to  supply  a  signifi¬ 
cant  name,  and,  whether  we  take  “  House  of  Healing  ”  or 
u  House  of  Bubbling-up  "  to  be  the  true  interpretation  of 
the  name  Bethesda,*  either  meaning  would  fit  the  story. 
In  short,  it  is  not  here  suggested  that  the  Evangelist  had 
Siloam  in  mind  when  he  narrated  and  applied  the  legend  ; 
it  is  claimed,  only,  that  the  original  and  historical  incident 
upon  which  the  legend  was  founded  took  place,  if  anywhere, 
in  all  probability  at  the  one  pool  where  water  mysteriously 
troubled  is  seen  as  an  actual  fact  at  intervals  of  a  few  hours 
throughout  the  day.f 

But  is  it  intermittent  ?  It  is  described  as  “  an  underground  cave-well  ” 
(“  Encycl.  Bibl.,”  “  Jerusalem,”  2414).  Dr.  Chaplin,  who  explored  it  in 
1871,  says:  “No  appearance  of  a  fountain  was  discovered,  though 
carefully  searched  for,”  and  adds  that  “  every  fresh  observation  tends 
to  confirm  the  opinion  that  its  water  is  derived  solely  from  the  per¬ 
colation  of  the  rains  through  the  debris  upon  which  the  city  is  built  ” 
(P.E.F.  “  Jerusalem  Vol.,”  p.  262);  and  Socin  says  that  it  contains 
only  “  rain-water  which  has  percolated  through  impure  earth  ”  (Socin 
in  “  Baed.”  1898,  p.  55)  ;  while  Conder  says  that  “the  only  place  near 
Jerusalem  where  a  periodical ‘troubling  of  the  waters’ is  now  known 
to  occur  is  the  Virgin’s  Fountain”  (P.E.F.Q.S.,  1888,  p.  134). 

*  Edersheim,  “Jesus  the  Messiah,”  9th  edition,  i.  p.  162. 

f  See,  further,  Appendix  E. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 


JERUSALEM— THE  TEMPLE  WALLS 

A  chapter  on  the  Temple  Walls  and  the  Temple  Area,  and 
the  long  and  intricate  controversy  on  the  Temple  Site,  might 
easily  expand  into  a  volume.  Moreover,  descriptions  of  the 
Haram,  and  brief  accounts  of  the  numerous  points  of  in¬ 
terest  without  and  within  its  walls,  are  to  be  found  in  every 
Palestine  guide-book  ;  I  shall  confine  myself,  therefore,  to 
one  or  two  points  which  were  especially  interesting  to 
myself. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  Jews'  Wailing-Place,  which  we 
visited  on  the  Friday  afternoon  after  our  return  from  Siloam. 
It  is  a  small  open  area  at  the  end  of  a  blind  turning,  and  is 
situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Haram  at  about  one-fourth 
of  the  distance  between  the  south-west  and  north-west 
corners.  This  situation  for  the  traditional  Wailing- Place 
has  been  advanced  as  an  argument  in  favour  of  the  theory 
that  the  ancient  Temple  was  situated  in  the  south-west 
corner  of  the  present  area,  and  not  opposite  to  the  Sakhra, 
or  sacred  rock.  The  argument  seems,  however,  rather  far¬ 
fetched,  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  from  this  point  northwards 
there  is  no  other  point  at  which  you  can  see  even  a  few 
contiguous  yards  of  the  west  wall  ;  so  that  the  Jews  would 
seem — at  any  rate,  at  the  present  day — to  have  no  choice 
in  the  matter. 

It  was  about  half-past  three,  too  early  for  the  Friday 
liturgy,  which  is  not  read  until  four,  but  a  number  of  Jews, 
young  men  and  white-headed  fathers,  were  already  gathered 
together,  and  were  praying,  or  reading  their  psalters,  or 
kissing  the  great  stones  of  the  Temple  wall.  Some  of  the 
more  poverty-stricken  of  them,  I  am  bound  to  confess,  left 
their  prayers  upon  sight  of  us,  and  besieged  us  with  requests 
for  bakhshish  ;  but,  for  the  most  part,  the  worship  was  de¬ 
vout,  and  the  tears  and  lamentations  apparently  genuine. 
The  men  were  variously  habited,  some  in  semi-European, 


2  j8 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


others  in  Oriental  dress  ;  some  in  cloth  coats,  others  in  long 
cotton  gowns  ;  some  wore  the  tarbush,  others  fur  caps,  and 
yet  others  the  bowler-hat,  which  so  many  of  the  jews  affect 

(Fig-  58)- 

On  the  other  side  of  a  canvas  screen,  which  divided  the 
little  courtyard  into  two,  were  the  women,  standing  against 
the  sunlit  wall  of  the  Temple,  or  sitting  in  the  shade  with 
their  books.  They  wore,  for  the  most  part,  cotton  gowns 
and  Manchester  shawls,  with  a  folded  handkerchief  by  way 
of  headdress,  and  they  carried  very  Western-looking  black 
umbrellas  (Fig.  59). 

This  Jewish  custom  of  wailing  over  the  lost  Zion  is  of 
immense  antiquity,  dating,  indeed,  from  Roman  times  ;  for 
Jerome  tells  us  how  the  Jews  had  to  “  buy  their  tears  "  of  the 
Roman  soldiers.  By  Hadrian  they  had  been  entirely  ex¬ 
cluded  from  Jerusalem,  but  Constantine  permitted  them  to 
stand  upon  the  neighbouring  hills  and  view  their  ancient 
capital  from  afar  ;  and  soon  afterwards  they  were  allowed 
once  a  year,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  capture  of  the  city  by 
Titus,  to  enter  within  its  walls  and  wail  over  the  ruins  of 
the  Temple.  From  that  time  forth  the  custom  has  probably 
remained  unbroken.  In  the  twelfth  century,  at  any  rate, 
Benjamin  of  Tudela  mentions  it  as  then  existing,  and  the 
allusions  to  it  in  later  times  are  frequent. 

The  published  fragments  of  the  liturgy  used  at  this  place 
are  very  affecting.  They  are  such  as  the  following  : 

For  the  Palace  which  is  deserted 
We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 

For  the  Temple  which  is  destroyed 
We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 

For  the  Walls  which  are  broken  down 
We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 

For  our  majesty  which  is  departed 
We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 

For  our  great  men  who  lie  dead 
We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 

For  the  precious  stones  which  are  burned 
We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 

For  our  priests  who  have  stumbled 
We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 

For  our  Kings  who  have  contemned  Him 
We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 


Lord,  build,  Lord,  build — 
Build  Thy  house  speedily  ! 


FIG.  58.— THE  JEWS’  WAILING  PLACE 


FIG.  59.  JEWESSES  AT  THE  WAILING  PLACE 


219 


JERUSALEM— THE  TEMPLE  WALLS 

In  haste  !  in  haste !  even  in  our  days, 

Build  Thy  house  speedily  ! 

In  haste,  in  haste,  even  in  our  days, 

Build  Thy  house  speedily ! 

So  the  passionate  entreaties  ascend  by  the  face  of  these 
grey  stones — the  veritable  stones  of  ancient  Zion.  But  no 
response  comes. 

The  stones  are  themselves  full  of  interest.  As  we  raise 
our  eyes  from  the  base  of  the  wall  to  its  summit  nearly  sixty 
feet  above  us,  we  see  at  a  glance  that  there  are  three  periods 
represented  in  its  masonry.  Above  the  present  surface  of 
the  ground  you  have,  first,  five  courses  of  gigantic  stones, 
mostly  with  marginal  draughts,  averaging  3J  feet  in  height 
and  several  feet  in  length  ;  one  of  them  is  13  feet,  another 
16  feet,  long.  These  courses,  it  is  now  generally  agreed, 
are  Herodian,  the  prepossession  in  favour  of  Solomon,  which 
has  so  often  been  a  drag  upon  Jerusalem  archaeology,  having 
given  way  to  a  more  reasonable  view.*  Next  above  these 
are  four  courses  of  great  square  stones  with  plain  faces, 
which  are  said  to  be  late  Roman  or  Byzantine.  And  at 
the  top  are  sixteen  courses  of  small  stones  representing 
Arab  work. 

It  struck  me  as  very  remarkable  that  while  some  of  the 
huge  Herodian  stones  are  wonderfully  preserved,  others 
have  crumbled  into  an  almost  shapeless  irregularity.  This 
is  due,  I  am  told,  from  their  being  quarried  from  two  dif¬ 
ferent  strata  found  at  Jerusalem — the  “mezzeh,”  or  soft 
limestone,  and  the  “  melekeh,”  or  hard — and  it  has  been  used 
as  an  argument,  but  not  a  very  convincing  one,  that  the 
materials  belong  to  different  ages.  That  the  wall  at  this 
place  has  been  rebuilt  is,  nevertheless,  possible,  for  it  is 
noticeable  that  the  joints  between  the  stones  gape  wide  in 
some  instances,  instead  of  fitting  so  closely,  as  they  do  in 
most  parts  of  the  wall,  that  a  knife  cannot  be  inserted  be¬ 
tween  them. 

It  is  not  wonderful  that  such  signs  of  reconstruction 
should  occur  here  and  there,  considering  the  desperate 
sieges  which  the  Temple,  as  well  as  the  city,  has  sustained  : 

*  Masons’  marks  painted  on  the  stones  of  the  foundations  of  the 
south-east  angle  and  elsewhere  were  pronounced  to  be  Phoenician,  and 
supposed  on  that  account  to  prove  that  the  wall  dated  from  Solomon, 
“  but  their  forms  are  too  rude  to  give  any  clear  indication  of  their  age. 
They  may  have  been  painted  by  Herod’s  masons  quite  as  well  as  by 
Solomon’s”  (P.E.F.  Mem.,  “Jerusalem  Vol.,”  p.  244). 


220 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


they  do  not  form  any  sufficient  ground  for  doubting  the 
opinion,  formed  after  careful  and  laborious  examination  of 
the  west  wall  at  every  point  where  it  can  be  inspected,  that 
the  whole  wall  in  its  lower  courses  is  mainly  of  one  age, 
and  that  age,  as  has  already  been  said,  the  Herodian. 

Take  a  good  look  at  the  masonry  of  the  “  Wailing-Place  " 
before  we  leave  it ;  for  this  is  the  recognised  standard  of 
comparison  in  all  discussions  on  the  character  and  age  of 
the  Haram  walls  in  the  various  parts  of  their  circuit.  Any 
such  discussion  would  be  too  lengthy  for  insertion  here,  but 
we  may  briefly  remark  that  the  conclusion  to  which  it  would 
lead  us  would  be  that  (disregarding,  of  course,  the  upper 
and  later  courses)  the  west,  the  south,  and  the  east  walls  are 
all  the  work  of  one  period  and  one  builder.  The  only  reason¬ 
able  doubt  attaches  to  the  north-east  corner.  With  that 
exception  we  can  say  with  some  confidence  that  these  are 
the  very  walls  with  which  Herod  surrounded  the  sacred 
precincts  ;  they  are  the  walls  upon  which  Jesus  looked.* 

*  And  now  let  us  leave  the  Wailing-Place  and  proceed  to¬ 
ward  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Haram — that  corner  about 
which  there  is  not,  and  never  has  been,  any  dispute,  all 
admitting  that  this,  at  least,  was  Herod's  work.  Nassar 
takes  us  round  by  some  very  filthy  streets  (for  houses  abut 
upon  the  wall,  and  prevent  a  straight  course),  and  lands  us 
presently  at  a  spot  a  little  north  of  the  corner  where  dust  and 
rubbish  and  formidable  clumps  of  prickly  pear  encumber 
the  base  of  the  great  rampart.  It  is  very  hot  and  very  glaring 
and  very  unsavoury.  But  look  there  upon  your  left  ! 
What  do  you  see  ?  One  of  the  most  interesting  relics  of 
Christ's  Jerusalem.  A  stranger  to  Jerusalem  topography 
might  pass  it,  perhaps,  without  realising  its  significance,  for 
it  appears  to  be  nothing  but  a  rough  projection  from  the 
ancient  masonry — the  spring  of  an  arch,  perhaps. 

Just  so  1  that  is  precisely  what  it  is — the  spring  of  an 
ancient  arch.  “  Now  in  the  western  part  of  the  Temple  en¬ 
closures,"  writes  Josephus,  “  there  were  four  gates,  the  first 
led  to  the  King's  Palace,  and  went  to  a  passage  over  the 
intermediate  valley."  This  arch  was  part  of  that  same  u pas¬ 
sage  over  the  valley."  The  valley  is  almost  filled  up  now  ; 
the  curve  of  the  arch  begins  but  a  few  feet  from  the  ground. 
But  originally  the  arch  rose  to  a  height  of  forty-two  feet ;  its 

*  The  details  of  the  masonry  of  the  Har&m  walls  are  fully  described 
in  a  paper  by  the  late  Sir  Charles  Wilson,  in  P  E.F.Q.S.,  1880,  p.  33. 
See,  also,  Appendix  F  to  the  present  work. 


221 


JERUSALEM— THE  TEMPLE  WALLS 

span  was  forty  feet  from  pier  to  pier,  and  its  depth  fifty  feet 
from  back  to  front.  The  bridge  of  which  it  formed  a  part 
joined  the  Palace  of  the  Maccabees  to  the  Royal  Cloister  of 
the  Temple.  It  was  built  of  great  stones  like  those  of  the 
Wailing- Place,  and  in  the  lifetime  of  Jesus  it  formed  one  of 
the  principal  features  of  the  city. 

The  relic  is  known  as  Robinson's  Arch,  after  the  name  of 
its  discoverer.  The  ground  beneath  it  was  excavated  by 
Warren,  who  found  the  central  pier  of  the  bridge  rising  from 
an  old  pavement,  that  identical  pavement  upon  which  Christ 
and  His  disciples  walked  whenever  they  went  down  the 
Valley  of  the  Cheesemakers  to  the  Pool  of  Siloam.  And 
upon  the  pavement  Warren  found  the  great  stones  of  the 
arch  lying  where  they  fell  when  the  ruin  which  Jesus  pre¬ 
dicted  was  accomplished. 

Warren  furthermore  broke  through  this  pavement  and, 
after  passing  through  another  twenty-two  feet  of  rubbish, 
found  the  stones  of  a  still  earlier  arch,  which  had  been  de¬ 
stroyed  before  ever  the  pavement  of  Herod's  day  was  laid. 
This,  there  cannot  be  a  doubt,  belonged  to  the  bridge 
destroyed  at  the  time  of  Pompey's  siege  in  63  B.C.;  for 
Josephus  tells  us  how  in  that  siege  “  the  adherents  of 
Aristobulus  being  beaten,  retreated  on  the  Temple, 
breaking  down  the  bridge  which  connected  it  with 
the  city." 

But  the  later  bridge  upon  whose  fragments  we  are  now 
looking,  was  Herod's  bridge,  the  bridge  which  spanned  the 
valley  with  two  great  arches  in  Christ's  time.  Standing 
upon  it  you  might  at  that  time  have  seen  some  of  the  most 
magnificent  features  of  what  was  then  a  noble  city.  On 
your  right  as  you  faced  northwards  would  be  Ophel,  the 
priests'  quarter,  and  the  vast  walls  round  the  Temple  ; 
higher  still,  the  Temple  itself  rising  terrace  above  terrace,  a 
pile  of  snowy  stone  and  yellow  gold.  Below  you  the  deep 
cleft  of  the  Tyropoeon  with  the  “  Lower  City,"  or  business 
quarter,  stretching  north  and  north-west.  Here  too,  upon 
your  left,  was  the  Xystus,  or  Forum,  on  the  western  slope  of 
the  valley,  with  the  Palace  of  the  Maccabees  above  it  ;*  and 
higher  still,  the  Upper  City,  the  “  West  End,"  the  quarter  of 
palaces  and  mansions,  the  houses  of  the  rich  ranged  terrace 

*  Jos.,  Bell.  Jud.,  ii.  xvi.  3.  avrrj  yap  \i.C.,  ’Ao-pwvauov  olicia~\  rju  endvco  tov 
gvarov  npos  to  nepav  rrjs  dv co  noXecos,  <a\  ye<fivpa  tco  £u(rr ai  to  Upov 
avvqnTev. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


222 

above  terrace.  Such  was  Jerusalem  seen  from  this  ancient 
bridge  in  the  days  of  Jesus.* 

And  now  let  us  turn  from  this  bit  of  the  old  bridge,  and 
taking  a  few  steps  southward  pause  at  the  corner  of  the 
wall.  This  corner  stands  not,  as  might  be  supposed,  in  the 
bed  of  the  Tyropoeon  Valley,  but  high  on  the  western  slope 
of  that  valley.  This  remarkable  fact  is  obscured  now  by 
the  filling  up  of  the  valley  down  its  whole  length  with  the 
debris  of  the  ruined  city,  but  the  rock  levels  obtained  by 
excavation  from  the  Wailing-Place  southward,  and  from  the 
Double  Gate  westward,  show  that  the  Tyropoeon  at  this 
part  of  its  course  bore  south-eastwards,  and  actually  cut 
across  this  south-west  corner  of  the  Temple  area  ;  or  rather 
that  this  corner  of  the  great  platform  actually  crossed  the 
valley  and  planted  its  extremity  on  the  opposite  bank. 

It  was  a  bold  idea  for  an  architect  to  conceive,  and  it 
could  only  be  carried  out  by  making  the  retaining  wall  of 
the  most  massive  description,  and  then  filling  in  with  earth 
and  rubble  the  great  space  left  between  the  wall  and  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  valley.  And  the  masonry  at  the  south¬ 
west  corner  is  just  what  might  be  expected.  It  shows  the 
most  gigantic  blocks,  in  some  cases  approaching  forty  feet  in 
length.!  And  the  wall  has  never  been  disturbed  ;  none  of 
the  rebuilding  which  may  possibly  have  taken  place  at 
some  points  has  ever  occurred  here ;  the  joints  are  per¬ 
fect  and  the  masonry  “  has  every  appearance  of  being  in 
situ.” 

Look  at  the  height  of  the  wall  here,  and  remember  that 
this  is  but  a  third  of  the  whole  height  measured  from  the 
foundations ;  that  will  give  you  some  idea  of  the  largeness 
of  Herod’s  conception  and  the  strength  of  his  will.  In 
Jesus’  day  the  wall  was  hidden  to  a  third  of  its  height  from 
the  base  ;  but  allowing  for  that,  and  measuring  only  from 
the  pavement  to  the  summit,  this  rampart  of  cyclopean 
blocks,  said  to  be  “  the  finest  example  of  mural  masonry  in 
the  world,”  towered  to  a  height  of  ioo  feet  above  the  spec¬ 
tator’s  head,  and  the  wall  of  the  Royal  Cloister  rose  for 

*  Edersheim,  “Jesus  the  Messiah,'’  gth  ed.,  vol.  i.  p.  112;  Stapfer, 
“  Palestine  in  the  Time  of  Christ,”  p.  52. 

t  One  stone,  built  into  the  wall  at  a  height  of  62  feet  from  the  base, 
measures  no  less  than  38  feet  9  inches  in  length,  and  is  4  feet  thick  and 
10  feet  deep,  and  others  are  of  scarcely  less  size  (Wilson,  P.E,F.Q.S., 
1880,  p.  9). 


JERUSALEM— THE  TEMPLE  WALLS  223 

another  fifty  feet  above  that.  Near  the  south-east  angle  an 
even  greater  height  was  visible  above  the  surface.  There 
wall  and  cloister  together  soared  to  a  height  of  about  185 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  below  the  wall  was  a  precipitous 
descent  to  the  bed  of  the  Kidron,  which  at  that  time  was 
126  feet  beneath  the  exposed  base  of  the  wall.  It  was  on 
this  east  side  of  the  Temple  that  the  disciples,  crossing  the 
Kidron  to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  were  struck  with  wonder  at 
the  sight.  And  truly  when  we  remember  that  the  great 
stones  were  then  pure  white,  that  the  platform  above  them 
was  surrounded  by  four  marble  cloisters,  one  at  least  of 
which  was  longer  and  higher  than  York  Minster  ;*  when  we 
remember  moreover  that  these  cloisters  embraced  a  building 
of  marble  and  gold,  approached  by  a  porch  or  gateway  150 
feet  in  height,!  higher,  that  is  to  say,  than  the  fapade  of  St. 
Peter’s  at  Rome,  we  feel  that  we  too  might  well  have  ex¬ 
claimed,  in  the  words  of  the  Galilean  disciple  :  “  Behold 
what  manner  of  stones  and  what  manner  of  buildings  !  ” 
Truly  as  we  stand  beside  their  wrecked  remains  we  are 
impressed  anew  with  the  greatness  of  Him  who  so  pro¬ 
foundly  realised  the  nothingness  of  all  material  splendour 
in  comparison  with  the  things  of  the  spirit,  that  He  could 
exclaim  with  deep  conviction  concerning  this  marvel  of  His 
age,  “  Destroy  this  temple  that  is  made  with  hands,  and  in 
three  days  I  will  build  another  made  without  hands.”! 

And  how  long  did  this  Temple  of  Herod  last  ?  It  was 
completed  in  the  procuratorship  of  Albinus  (62-64  A.D.),  and 
it  was  burned  in  70  A.D.  It  lasted  about  six  years  ! 

*  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  vol.  i.  p.  9. 

f  “  Encycl.  Bibl.,”  s.v.  “  Temple.” 

J  See  Mark  xiv.  58.  One  may  believe  that  the  words  which  Jesus 
really  said  were  those  suggested  above.  It  is  noteworthy  that  in 
Mark  xiii.  1,  2,  the  passage  previously  alluded  to,  while  the  disciple 
calls  attention  to  the  stones  and  the  buildings,  it  is  the  buildings  only 
( i.e .,  the  iepov  and  the  cloisters  which  crowned  the  cyclopean  platform) 
concerning  which  Jesus  said  they  should  be  “  thrown  down  ” — a  subtle 
indication  of  His  reasonableness  and  perception  of  probability. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 


THE  TEMPLE  AREA 

At  seven  o'clock  the  next  morning  (Saturday,  April  13)  we 
made  our  way  to  the  Haram  esh-Sherif,  the  great  platform 
upon  which  the  Temple  once  stood,  and  whose  retaining 
walls  we  had  gazed  upon  the  day  before.  We  started  thus 
early  because  the  Easter-eve  celebrations  of  the  Greek 
Church  were  to  take  place  that  day,  and  already  the  streets 
were  becoming  thronged  :  at  a  later  hour,  we  were  warned 
the  ways  would  be  so  crowded  with  pilgrims  as  to  be  almost 
impassable.  For  an  hour  past,  indeed,  the  pavement  round 
about  the  Jaffa  Gate  had  been  appropriated  by  petty 
merchants  selling  their  wares,  coloured  fabrics,  oranges, 
sweets,  relics,  glass  bangles,  endless  frippery.  The  foot- 
passengers  were  crowded  off  into  the  road  among  the 
donkeys,  mules,  and  camels,  while  the  side-walk,  wherever 
one  existed,  was  filled  with  costermongers,  loungers,  and 
barbers. 

By  the  by,  speaking  of  barbers,  one  notices  here  a  curious 
illustration  of  a  passage  in  one  of  St.  Paul’s  Epistles.  The 
operation  which  for  the  most  part  the  street  barber  seems 
to  be  performing  is  that  of  shaving  his  customer's  head  with 
a  razor.  As  the  warm  weather  approaches,  every  male,  it 
appears,  has  all  his  hair  shaved  off  in  this  manner.  And  it 
is  to  this  custom  that  the  Apostle  alludes  when  he  writes  : 
“  If  a  woman  is  not  veiled,  let  her  also  be  shorn  :  but  if  it  is 
a  shame  to  a  woman  to  be  shorn  or  shaven,  let  her  be 
veiled"  :  in  other  words,  “if  she  means  to  be  a  man  let  her 
be  a  man  outright" — a  truly  Oriental  view.  Both  customs, 
the  veiling  of  the  women  and  the  shaving  of  the  men,  are 
practised  to-day  precisely  as  they  were  then. 

But  to  return  to  our  expedition  :  we  took  with  us,  besides 
our  own  dragoman,  a  “  kawass  "  or  official  attendant  from 
the  British  Consulate,  and  a  soldier  from  the  Turkish 
barracks.  It  is  unsafe,  especially  at  feast-times  (and  the 


FIG.  6o. — THE  HARAM  ESH-SHERIF.  N.W.  ANGLE 


FIG.  6l. — THE  DOME  OF  THE  ROOK 


THE  TEMPLE  AREA 


225 

Moslem  festival  only  ended  yesterday),  to  visit  the  Haram 
without  being  thus  attended. 

We  entered  by  a  gate  in  the  north-west  angle,  and  were 
deeply  impressed  by  a  most  unexpected  experience.  The 
contrast  between  the  sordid  streets  we  had  just  left  and  the 
grandeur  of  this  sacred  inclosure  was  such  as  almost  took 
our  breath  away.  The  Mohammedans  have  good  right  to 
name  this  the  “  Noble  Sanctuary/'  In  place  of  evil-smelling 
filth,  rough  jostling,  narrow  roadways,  decay,  disorder,  and 
noise,  you  enter  suddenly  upon  spaciousness,  cleanliness, 
silence,  nobility,  beauty.  A  conviction  seizes  upon  you  that 
this  people  has  ideals,  that  its  religion  is  alive  ;  the  pity  is 
that  those  who  can  thus  appreciate  the  spiritual  value  of  quiet 
and  purity  do  not  apply  it  to  their  civic  life. 

The  quadrangle  occupies  about  thirty-five  acres,  a  sixth  of 
the  whole  area  of  the  city.  It  is  nearly  a  mile  in  circuit. 
At  the  corner  where  we  are  standing  there  is  a  considerable 
area  of  rock,  bare  except  for  patches  of  weedy  growth 
(Fig.  60)  ;  in  other  parts  there  is  grass  which  would  be 
green  but  for  the  drought  which  has  withered  it ;  but  a 
great  part  of  this  vast  area  is  paved  with  flagstones  which 
are  kept  neat  and  clean.  Cypresses  and  sycamores  are 
planted  here  and  there,  some  of  them  being  trees  of  con¬ 
siderable  age.  Mastaba,  or  raised  places  for  prayer,  and 
sebil,  or  fountains  for  religious  ablution,  are  dotted  about ; 
the  Mesjid  el-Aksa,  on  the  site  of  Omar's  Mosque,  occupies 
the  south-west  corner  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  all  rises  the  noble 
and  graceful  building  known  as  the  Kubbet  es-Sakhra,  or 
Dome  of  the  Rock. 

And  now,  disregarding  the  numberless  “sights"  usually 
shown  to  travellers,  most  of  them  things  to  which  silly 
fables  are  attached,  let  us  confine  ourselves  to  the  one  or 
two  matters  of  biblical  interest  which  are  contained  within 
the  Sanctuary.  To  begin  with,  there  is  the  rock  upon  which 
we  are  standing.  We  have  entered  at  the  most  northerly 
gate  of  the  west  wall,  and  we  are  facing  eastward.  The 
whole  of  the  north-west  corner  is,  as  I  have  said,  neither 
paved  nor  turfed,  it  is  the  bare  native  rock.  But  the  rock 
has  been  lowered  and  artificially  levelled.  This  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  the  barracks  upon  our  left  hand  (successors 
to  the  ancient  Antonia)  stand  upon  a  rocky  platform  which 
is  scarped  on  the  south.  The  base  of  the  barracks  gives 
you  the  natural  level  of  this  part  of  the  Haram,  and  the  scarp 
gives  you  the  depth  of  rock  which  has  been  cut  away.  This 

p 


226 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


lowering  of  the  general  surface  has  had  the  effect  of  isolating 
the  barracks  on  the  north  and  the  platform  of  the  Dome 
upon  the  south  :  formerly  they  must  have  been  connected 
by  a  continuous  ridge. 

When  did  that  lowering  and  levelling  take  place  ?  Well  ; 
we  read  in  the  First  Book  of  Maccabees  and  in  the  Works 
of  Josephus,  of  a  certain  Akra  or  Citadel  which  stood 
higher  than  the  Temple,  and  which,  when  it  fell  into  hostile 
hands,  was  a  serious  menace.  We  also  read  that  when 
Simon  Maccabaeus  captured  it  from  the  Greeks,  he  levelled 
the  hill  upon  which  it  stood,  so  that  the  Temple  might  be 
the  higher,  a  work  which  occcupied  three  years.  It  has 
always  been  a  debated  question  where  this  Greek  Akra 
stood.  Some  have  placed  it  at  the  west,  across  the  Tyro- 
paeon  ;  some  to  the  south,  on  a  hypothetical  rock  separated 
from  the  Temple  site  by  a  doubtful  hollow  ;  *  but  Professor 
Robertson  Smith  places  it  on  the  north,  and  identifies  it 
with  Antonia.  I  wonder,  then,  whether  the  suggestion  is 
worth  considering  that  the  Baris,  or  Akra,  occupied  a  much 
larger  platform  than  Antonia  ;  that  the  Antonia  rock,  which 
measures  only  fifty  feet  from  north  to  south,  is  in  fact  a 
mere  remnant  of  the  Akra  rock  ;  that  the  latter  approached 
in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees  much  nearer  to  the  Temple 
than  this  narrow  Antonia  strip  which  stands  at  a  distance 
of  some  130  yards  from  the  Temple  site  ;  and  that  this 
great  rocky  area,  which  adjoined  and  vied  with  the  Temple 
platform,  is  the  rock  which  was  cut  away  ?  If  so,  this  flat 
surface  of  the  native  limestone,  upon  which  our  feet  are  at 
this  moment  planted,  is  accounted  for,  and  it  presented 
the  same  appearance  in  New  Testament  times  as  it  does 
to-day. 

The  alternative  hypothesis  is  that  the  levelling  of  this 
part  of  the  Sanctuary  took  place  at  a  later  date,  when  the 
Temple  area  was  extended  toward  the  north  so  as  to  bring 
the  Sacred  Rock  more  nearly  into  the  centre  of  the  Sanc¬ 
tuary.  According  to  this  view,  the  lowering  of  the  north¬ 
west  corner  took  place  at  the  same  time  as  the  filling  up  of 
the  north-east  corner,  whether  by  Hadrian,  as  some  sup¬ 
pose,  or  by  Abd  el-Melik,  as  is  supposed  by  others. 


*  The  strong  point  in  favour  of  this  view  is  the  association  of  Akra 
with  the  Fountain  in  Siloam,  in  Jos.  “  Bell.  Jud.,”  v.  vi.  1 ;  but  the  passage 
by  no  means  necessitates  the  view  that  the  Akra  was  above  the 
fountain.  It  runs  as  follow  :  Karei^e  KCU  rr)v  rrrjyrju ,  kcll  TT)v’'AKpav — avrrj 
de  ijv  r  Kara)  7 roXty, — k«'i  ra  p^XPL  T<*>v  (3acn\ei (ov,  rrjs  rod  M ovofia^ov 


prjrpos. 


THE  TEMPLE  AREA 


227 

And,  speaking  of  the  north-east  corner,  we  must  not 
leave  our  present  standpoint  at  the  north-west  till  we  have 
noticed  the  difference  of  level  between  the  two.  Notwith¬ 
standing  the  obvious  fact  that  the  ground  where  we  are 
standing  has  been  considerably  lowered,  it  is  still  ten  feet 
higher  than  the  corner  which  faces  us.  This  is  due,  of 
course,  to  the  former  existence  of  the  side-valley  whose 
filling-up  I  have  just  alluded  to.  In  Herod's  day  a  combe 
or  hollow  cut  diagonally  across  yonder  angle,  sloping 
rapidly  down  to  the  Kidron  ;  and  the  later  character  of 
the  masonry  at  that  part  of  the  east  wall  proves  that  it  was 
not  till  long  after  Herod’s  day  that  a  part  of  this  hollow 
was  walled  in  and  filled  up  so  as  to  extend  the  general 
surface  of  the  Temple  enclosure.  If  we  wish,  therefore, 
to  picture  the  ground-plan  of  the  enclosure  as  it  existed  in 
Christ’s  time,  we  must  altogether  exclude  yonder  north¬ 
eastern  part,  and  place  the  northern  boundary  just  on  the 
hither  (northern)  side  of  that  dais  which  supports  and  sur¬ 
rounds  the  Dome  of  the  Rock.*  Antonia  stood  on  our  left 
as  we  are  now  facing,  just  outside  the  existing  north-west 
corner.  From  that  fortress  to  the  inner  court  of  the 
Temple  (the  Temple  standing,  we  are  for  the  moment 
assuming,  where  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  rises  now)  there 
ran  a  colonnade.  Such  is  the  reconstruction  which  we 
must  make  upon  the  north  ;  but  for  the  rest  the  limits  were 
the  same  then  as  now ;  the  south-west  and  south-east 
angles  remain  as  they  were. 

It  is  time,  however,  that  we  moved  on  and  visited  what 
is  to  myself  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  objects  of 
veneration — the  Sakhra,  or  sacred  rock,  from  which  the 
Moslems  say  that  Mohammed  took  his  night-journey  to 
heaven,  but  which  actually  marks,  as  I  believe,  a  spot  in¬ 
timately  connected  with  the  Jewish  Temple-worship. 

The  vast  and  beautiful  building  which  covers  the  Sakhra, 
known  as  the  Dome  of  the  Rock,  stands  upon  a  raised 
platform  of  about  five  acres  in  extent  and  ten  feet  in 
height,  to  which  ascent  is  made  by  broad  flights  of  steps 
(Fig.  61).  The  platform  is  paved,  but  is  itself  doubtless  a 
solid  mass  of  rock,  and  the  Sacred  Rock  merely  the  highest 

*  Near  the  north  side  of  the  platform  on  which  the  Dome  of  the 
Rock  stands,  a  scarp  of  the  rock  has  been  found  beneath  the  present 
paved  surface  ;  the  line  of  that  scarp  produced  eastwards  would  cut  the 
eastern  boundary  wall  just  at  the  point  where  Herod’s  masonry  joins 
the  later  masonry  which  runs  northward  from  the  Golden  Gate. 


228 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


peak  of  the  same.  The  Sakhra  is  a  rough,  irregular  piece 
of  the  native  limestone,  rising  five  feet  about  the  general 
surface  of  the  pavement,  and  standing  there  in  isolation 
amid  the  marble  and  mosaics  which  surround  it. 

At  the  top  of  the  three  flights  of  steps  which  lead  up  to 
the  platform  there  stands  a  graceful  arcade,  which  surrounds 
and  encloses  the  sacred  ground  upon  which  the  great 
Dome  stands.  Here  we  are  stopped  and  told  to  remove  or 
cover  our  shoes.  Slippers  are  accordingly  tied  over  our 
boots  lest  we  should  defile  the  sanctuary,  and  we  pass 
beneath  the  arch  and  pause  for  a  minute  to  look  at  a  beauti¬ 
ful  little  building  which  stands  before  the  entrance  of  the 
greater  building,  and  which  is  almost  a  replica  in  little  of 
the  latter.  This  exquisite  little  oratory,  known  now  as  “The 
Dome  of  David's  Chain,"  figures  in  the  accounts  which  the 
Moslem  historians  give  of  the  erection  of  the  greater  Dome. 
Their  story  is  that  Abd  el-Melik,  the  ninth  successor  to 
Mohammed,  having  lost  possession  of  Mecca,  conceived 
the  idea  of  making  Jerusalem  the  principal  place  of 
pilgrimage,  and  proceeded  to  build  a  dome  over  the  Holy 
Rock.  For  this  purpose  he  set  apart  “a  sum  of  money 
equivalent  in  amount  to  the  whole  revenue  of  Egypt  for 
seven  years.  For  the  safe  custody  of  this  immense 
treasure  he  built  a  small  dome,  the  same  which  exists  at  the 
present  day  to  the  east  of  the  Cubbet  es  Sakhrah,  and  is 
called  Cubbet  es  Silsileh.  This  little  dome  he  himself 
designed,  and  personally  gave  the  architect  instructions  as 
to  its  minutest  details.  When  finished,  he  was  so  pleased 
with  the  general  effect  that  he  ordered  the  Cubbet  es 
Sakhrah  itself  to  be  built  on  precisely  the  same  model."  * 

Such,  then,  is  the  origin  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock,  and  of 
its  little  companion  the  Dome  of  David's  Chain.  That  this 
is  the  true  account  of  the  latter  has  been  doubted  ;  yet  there 
seems  nothing  intrinsically  improbable  in  it,  and  no  rival 
tradition  disputes  the  claim.  The  former  is  often  confused 
with  the  Mosque  of  Omar  ;  but  the  two  were  distinct  build¬ 
ings  :  the  Dome  is  in  fact  not  a  Mosque  at  all ;  it  is  an 
oratory — a  sacred  spot  for  private  devotion,  not  a  place  of 
public  worship.  The  Mosque  el-Aksa,  to  the  south  of  the 
Dome,  which  was  built  by  Abd  el-Melik,  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  occupies  the  same  position  as  the  original  Mosque 

*  Besant  and  Palmer,  “  Jerusalem,  the  City  of  Herod  and  Saladin  ” 
(1889),  p.  87. 


THE  TEMPLE  AREA 


229 

of  Omar,  which,  according  to  an  early  pilgrim  who  saw  it, 
was  a  simple  square  building  of  timber. 

We  now  proceed  to  enter  the  Dome  itself.  We  could 
not  perhaps  see  the  interior  of  this  beautiful  building  to 
greater  advantage  than  we  do  at  this  moment,  when  the 
early  morning  light  is  streaming  through  the  upper  windows 
and  lights  up  the  gorgeous  mosaics  and  marble  pillars. 
Round  the  base  of  the  cupola  runs  an  inscription  recording 
in  old  Arabic  letters  that  the  oratory  was  erected  in  the 
year  72  of  the  Hegira,  that  is  in  A.D.  687.  It  is  said  that 
originally  the  inscription  gave  the  name  of  Abd  el-Melik 
as  the  builder  (which  is  no  doubt  the  truth),  but  that  the 
name  of  el-Mamun,  who  did  not  live  till  more  than  a 
century  later,  has  been  substituted. 

There  is  a  quaint  story  told  by  the  Moslem  historians  of 
a  narrow  escape  which  the  Great  Dome  had  about  200  years 
after  it  was  built.  In  A.D.  846  a  great  earthquake  occurred, 
and  the  guards  who  were  watching  on  that  fateful  night 
u  were  suddenly  astonished  to  find  the  dome  itself  displaced, 
so  that  they  could  see  the  stars  and  feel  the  rain  splashing 
upon  their  faces.  Then  they  heard  a  low  voice  saying 
gently,  1  Put  it  straight  again/  and  gradually  it  settled  down 
into  its  original  state.”  # 

It  is  not  our  business  to  describe  the  Mohammedan  shrine, 
wonderful  as  it  is.  Our  immediate  concern  is  with  that  for 
the  sake  of  which  it  was  built — the  Sakhra,  which  lies 
within  its  walls.  To  some  it  seems  childish  and  irrational 
to  feel  interest  in  that  which  is  associated  with  historical 
events  by  mere  locality  or  physical  contact  :  it  seems  akin 
to  the  passion  of  the  Oriental  for  sacred  trees  and  sacred 
hills  and  the  sacred  ground  which  the  body  of  a  saint  has 
touched.  Yet  I  confess  that  it  was  with  deep  emotion  that 
I  approached  this  venerable  rock.  By  no  other  relic  in  the 
holy  city  had  I  been  impressed  and  thrilled  as  I  was  by  this 
one.  When  I  came  to  myself  and  found  my  mouth  parched 
with  the  absorbing  interest  of  the  moment,  I  began  to  get 
an  inkling  of  what  the  Prophet  meant  by  his  “  night-journey 
to  heaven  ”  when  he  knelt  upon  this  rock. 

This  fascination  was  due  to  my  firm  conviction  (and  sub¬ 
sequent  study  has  not  shaken  it),  that  this  was  the  actual 
spot  upon  which  stood  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  in  the 
Temple  of  Solomon,  in  the  Temple  of  Zerubabel,  and  in 
the  Temple  of  Plerod.  From  the  high  point  where  the 
*  Besant  and  Palmer,  “Jerusalem/5  p.  104. 


230 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


natural  rock,  untouched  by  any  tool,  rose  above  the  sur¬ 
rounding  courts,  the  smoke  of  sacrifice  ascended  through 
the  long  history  of  Israel's  worship  till  the  days  of  Jesus  ; 
and  it  was  upon  this  same  spot  that  His  eyes  too  were  fixed 
at  the  hour  of  sacrifice  when  He  came  up  to  His  “  Father's 
House  "  a  lad  of  twelve,  and  when  in  after  years  He  attended 
the  feasts  with  His  friends  or  His  disciples. 

The  controversy  as  to  the  site  of  the  Temple  is  a  long  one, 
and  at  one  time  was  strangely  bitter.  The  late  Sir  Charles 
Wilson,  a  biblical  scholar  of  very  high  repute,  held  to  the 
very  last  that  the  Temple  stood  in  the  south-west  corner  of 
the  Haram  ;  but,  at  the  present  time  all  Continental  and 
nearly  all  British  scholars  place  it  at  or  near  the  spot  where 
we  are  standing.*  The  entrance  to  the  Holy  Place  was  to 
the  west  of  the  rock  :  the  altar  faced  the  Temple. 

My  first  impression  as  I  stood  by  the  Sakhra  was  that 
the  altar  must  have  stood  at  its  western  end,  and  the  priest 
when  he  went  to  offer  sacrifice  must  have  ascended  the 
gradual  slope  of  the  rock  from  east  to  west,  in  obedience  to 
the  commandment:  “  Neither  shalt  thou  go  up  by  steps 
unto  Mine  altar."  The  shape  of  the  rock  favours  this  idea, 
for  while  the  ascent  is  gradual  from  east  to  west,  the  western 
termination  of  the  rock,  which  would  face  the  Temple,  is 
abrupt.  That  cannot,  however,  have  been  the  arrangement 
in  Herod's  Temple,  for,  at  that  time,  the  altar  occupied  the 
whole  surface  of  the  rock.t  Moreover,  the  Mishna  distinctly 
states  that  the  approach  to  the  altar  by  which  the  priest 
ascended  was  on  the  south  side.  May  it  not  be  that 
in  Solomon's  Temple  the  ascent  actually  was  from  east  to 
west,  and  that  the  altar,  which  was  much  smaller  than 
Herod's,  occupied  the  western  end  of  the  holy  rock  ? 
When  Herod's  magnificence  demanded  a  larger  altar,  he 
adapted  that  to  the  form  of  the  rock,  not  daring  to  touch  the 
latter  with  a  tool,  and  built  of  unhewn  stones  the  ascent  on 
the  south  side  which  the  Mishna  describes. 

However  this  may  be,  it  is  clear  that  the  altar  upon 

*  Upon  this  point,  see  Appendix  F. 

t  In  the  Temples  of  Solomon  and  of  Zerubabel  the  base  of  the  altar 
measured  only  20  cubits  each  way;  but  in  Herod's  Temple  the  Mishna 
says  that  it  measured  32  cubits  (nearly  48  feet)  each  way.  Josephus 
(B.J.  v.  v.  6)  says  50  cubits,  but  the  statement  of  the  Mishna  may 
perhaps  be  preferred.  The  length  of  the  cubit  is  uncertain.  In  “  Encycl. 
Bibl.”  the  probable  lengths  of  the  longer  and  shorter  cubits  are  given  as 
20.67  inches  and  17.72  inches  respectively.  The  present  size  of 
the  Sakhra  is  58  feet  by  44  feet. 


THE  TEMPLE  AREA 


231 

which  Jesus  looked  must  have  occupied  the  whole  of  the 
rock.  We  must  picture  it  as  built  up  in  stages  to  a  height  (so 
Josephus  says)  of  fifteen  cubits,  and  approached  from  the 
south  by  an  acclivity  constructed  of  unhewn  stones,  carefully 
arranged  so  as  not  to  form  steps,  but  a  gradual  slope.* 

Though  we  have  no  evidence  upon  the  point,  we  may 
assume,  I  suppose,  that  the  Jews  kept  the  rock  in  its  rough 
state  in  obedience  to  the  same  sentiment  that  forbade  them 
to  build  the  altar  itself  of  hewn  stones,  “  for  if  thou  lift  up 
thy  tool  upon  it  thou  hast  polluted  it."  Unfortunately,  the 
rock  is  not  now  quite  in  its  original  condition,  for  the  Cru¬ 
saders  did  lift  up  their  tool  upon  it :  they  covered  it  with 
marble,  and  traces  of  the  fastenings  can  still  be  seen  upon 
the  surface.  The  Moslems,  however,  leave  it  untouched 
to-day,  except  that  they  keep  it  clean  by  covering  it  appar¬ 
ently  with  some  kind  of  lime-wash,  just  as  the  Jews  used  to 
white-wash  the  unhewn  stones  of  the  altar. 

We  went  down  into  the  cave  under  the  Sakhra,  and  we 
saw  the  marks  of  the  Archangel  Gabriel’s  hands  ;  for,  when 
Mohammed  was  caught  up  into  heaven,  the  rock  wished  to 
go  too,  but  the  Archangel  held  it  down,  and  he  left  the 
marks  of  his  fingers  where  he  clutched  it.  Then  we  left  the 
Dome,  and  as  we  did  so,  we  were  called  by  a  group  of  four 
or  five  turbaned  men  to  stay  and  see  the  stone  which 
covered  Solomon's  Tomb.  Into  the  stone  Mohammed  had 
driven  nineteen  nails,  and  one  nail  falls  through  into  the 
tomb  at  the  end  of  each  aeon  till  the  world  ends.  There  are 
three  and  a  half  nails  left,  and  it  was  incumbent  upon  us,  so 
it  seemed,  to  lay  bakhshish  on  these  miraculous  time- 
measurers.  We  attempted  to  pass  on  without  doing  so,  but 
were  pursued  by  the  whole  gang,  and  saved  our  lives  at  the 
expense  of  sixpence. 

We  visited  the  Mosque  el-Aksa, f  which,  as  I  have  said, 
occupies  the  site  of  the  original  Mosque  of  Omar,  saw  the 
traditional  footprint  of  Christ  behind  the  pulpit,  the  old 
armoury  of  the  Knights  Templars,  and  many  other  sights 
legendary  and  historical;  and  then,  descending  to  the  vaults 
beneath  the  Mosque  we  were  led  to  one  of  the  most  inter¬ 
esting  of  the  relics  belonging  to  New  Testament  times. 

A  flight  of  steps  near  the  entrance  to  the  Mosque  brought 

*  “  Encycl.  Bibl.”  and  Smith’s  D.B.  “Altar.” 

f  Called  by  native  historians  El  Jdmi  el-Aksa:  the  Masjid  el-Aksa  is 
properly  applied  to  the  whole  of  the  Hardm. — Besant  and  Palmer. 
“  Jerusalem  ”  (1889),  p.  92. 


232 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


us  down  to  the  upper  end  of  a  vaulted  passage.  This 
passage  ran  beneath  the  centre  of  the  Mosque,  sloping 
gently  downwards  towards  the  south  wall  of  the  Haram. 
Walking  along  it  for  about  200  feet  we  arrived  at  the  top  of 
eight  steps,  by  which  we  descended  into  a  porch  or  vesti¬ 
bule  about  40  feet  square,  at  the  further  end  of  which  is 
the  famous  Double  Gite. 

The  Double  Gate  is  now  blocked  up  ;  for  the  south  wall 
of  the  Haram,  in  which  it  is  situated,  is  now  one  of  the  walls 
of  the  city  ;  but  in  Gospel  times  the  city  wall  lay  much 
further  south,  at  the  foot  of  the  Ophel  ridge,  and  this  gate 
was  one  of  the  principal  entrances  from  the  town  into  the 
Temple.  At  that  time  the  sill  of  the  gate  lay  at  the  level  of 
the  ground  outside  the  Temple  wail,  and  a  long  tunnel 
sloped  up  from  it  to  the  paved  surface  of  the  Temple  area, 
as  may  still  be  seen.  It  was  this  tunnel  which  gave  to  the 
entrance  the  name  of  Huldah,  or  Weasel  Gate. 

What  makes  the  gate  and  tunnel  so  deeply  interesting  is 
that  it  was  through  them  that  the  water  procession  from 
Siloam  entered  the  Temple  of  old  ;  so  that  at  feast-times 
Jesus  must  often  have  passed  through  the  vestibule  and  up 
yonder  ramp.  Much  of  the  ancient  masonry  remains  ;  and 
we  feel  here,  what  we  can  so  seldom  feel  with  any  cer¬ 
tainty,  that  we  are  looking  on  the  very  thing  that  His  eyes 
beheld. 

Around  the  porch  in  which  we  stand  are  huge  stones  of 
the  mighty  Herodian  type  with  which  we  are  familiar  ;  and 
in  the  centre  is  a  gigantic  monolithic  column.  The  capital 
of  this  column,  which  is  said  to  be  “  of  the  Greek,  rather 
than  Roman  Corinthian  order,"  is  an  indication  to  us  of  the 
style  of  decoration  in  Herod's  Temple.  The  acanthus 
alternates  with  the  water-leaf,  “as  in  the  Tower  of  the 
Winds  at  Athens,  and  other  Greek  examples."  *  The  floor 
of  the  vestibule  is  spread  with  mats,  for  it  is  now  used  by 
the  Moslems  as  a  place  for  prayer. 

As  to  the  Double  Gate  itself,  it  consists,  as  its  name 
indicates,  of  two  arches.  These  are  divided  by  a  massive 
rectangular  pier  built  of  large  Herodian  stones,  and  the 
lintels  are  still  in  position.  It  is  significant  also  that  the 
breadth  of  the  whole  gateway  is  precisely  the  same  as  that 
of  Barclay's  Gate,  one  of  the  original  entrances  on  the  west 
side.  Thus,  there  is  every  indication  of  the  gateway  being 
the  veritable  structure  as  it  left  Herod's  hands.  On  the 
*  Smith,  D.B.  (1893),  “  Temple,”  p.  1461. 


THE  TEMPLE  AREA 


233 

outside,  indeed,  there  is  evidence  of  rebuilding.  There  we 
find  two  highly  ornamental  arches  dating  from  Julian's 
time  ;  *  but  these  are  loosely  and  roughly  inserted  into  the 
original  structure  of  the  gateway,  and  held  in  place  by 
metal  clamps.  They,  as  well  as  a  topsy-turvy  inscription, 
dating  from  the  second  century,  form  no  part  of  the 
massive  Huldah  Gate  of  Jesus'  time ;  but  here,  at  the 
interior,  the  Gateway,  the  Portico,  and  the  “  Weasel  "  tunnel 
sloping  up  to  the  Temple  area,  are  the  very  entrances 
through  which  He  passed  when,  as  one  of  the  worshippers, 
He  followed  the  procession  of  the  priests  at  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  carrying  the  fruit-laden  bough  in  His  hand. 

Returning  now  to  the  Haram,  we  proceed  to  the  south¬ 
east  corner.  Here  we  descend  by  a  flight  of  steps  to  the 
“  Cradle  of  Christ,"  which,  our  guide  informs  us,  is  no 
other  than  the  cradle  in  which  Jesus  was  laid  when  as  an 
infant  He  underwent  the  rite  of  circumcision.  How  it  came 
about  that  a  niche  belonging  to  a  pagan  statue,  built  hap¬ 
hazard  into  the  wall  in  a  horizontal  position  was  used  for 
this  purpose,  he  did  not  say.  Thence  more  steps  led  us 
down  to  Solomon's  Stables,  vast  vaults  supported  by  no 
fewer  than  eighty-eight  columns.  Solomon's  Palace  un¬ 
doubtedly  lay  to  the  south  of  the  Temple,  and  he  is  declared 
in  Scripture  to  have  had  forty  thousand  stalls  of  horses  for 
his  chariots  ;  moreover,  the  Knights  Templars  actually  found 
these  underground  avenues  convenient  as  stables  for  their 
own  steeds,  so  those  who  like  can  put  these  facts  together 
and  call  the  place  Solomon’s  Stables.  But  a  soberer  view 
recognises  in  them  a  reconstruction,  probably  belonging  to 
the  age  of  Justinian,  of  those  substructures  which  Herod 
built  to  support  his  cloisters,  when  he  extended  the  area  of 
the  Temple  Courts.  Some  remains  indeed  of  Herod's 
original  work,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  original  material,  may 
still  be  seen.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  historical 
association  of  the  place  is  that  on  that  dread  day  when  the 
city  was  stormed  by  Rome,  hundreds  of  poor  panic-stricken 
Jews  crowded  these  hidden  spaces  for  refuge  from  inevitable 
death. 

To  the  extreme  west  of  these  vaults,  at  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  yards  from  the  south-east  angle,  is  situated  an 
ancient  gateway  known  as  “  The  Triple  Gate."  Originally 
it  appears  to  have  opened  into  a  vestibule  similar  to  that 

*  Smith,  D.  B.,  2nd  ed.,  “Jerusalem,”  p.  1656.  “  Recent  Discoveries,” 
by  Rev.  J.  King,  pp.  73-77- 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


234 

which  we  saw  at  the  Double  Gate  ;  and  like  the  Double 
Gate  it  led  up  by  an  underground  ramp  to  the  Temple 
Courts.  It  is  blocked  up  now,  but  the  form  of  the  original 
entrance  is  very  clear. 

The  main  interest  of  this  gateway  is  that  its  situation 
affects  the  question  as  to  whereabouts  in  the  Haram  the 
original  Temple  area  lay.  Josephus  says  that  the  Weasel 
Gates  were  in  the  middle  of  the  south  wall.  If,  therefore, 
the  two  arches  of  the  Double  Gate  are  to  be  identified  with 
the  Weasel  Gates,  the  school  represented  by  the  late  Sir 
Charles  Wilson  was  right,  and  the  south  side  of  the  old 
Temple  area  did  extend  for  about  six  hundred  feet  from  the 
south-west  corner.  But  the  discovery  of  this  Triple  Gate 
upsets  that  conclusion,  for  this  gate  also  had  a  tunnel 
sloping  upward  to  the  light,  and  the  Weasel  Gates  may 
therefore  have  been  the  Double  and  Triple  Gateways  taken 
together.  Now,  the  Triple  Gate  is  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  south-east  corner  as  the  Double  Gate  is  from  the 
south-west,  so  the  two  together  maybe  considered  as  “in 
the  middle"  of  the  southern  Haram  wall,  and  the  whole 
southern  part  of  the  Haram  belonged  in  that  case  to  Herod’s 
Temple.  The  one  theory  would  oblige  you  to  put  the 
Temple  in  the  south-west  part  of  the  Haram,  the  other 
would  permit  you  to  place  it,  in  accordance  with  later 
views,  where  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  now  stands. 

Reascending  now  to  the  level  of  the  Temple  plateau,  and 
turning  the  corner,  we  proceed  along  the  east  wall.  At 
about  two-thirds  of  its  length  as  we  go  northwards  we  come 
to  the  far-famed  Golden  Gate.  This  was  probably  the 
northern  limit  of  Herod's  Temple.  In  New  Testament 
times  a  side  valley  cut  diagonally  across  what  is  now  the 
north-east  corner,  and  was  not  filled  up  until  a  later  date  ; 
so  that  this  gateway  must  then  have  been  near  the  north¬ 
eastern  extremity  of  the  enclosure.  It  is  significant  that 
just  here  the  masonry  of  the  external  wall  changes  its 
character  ;  also,  that  the  Golden  Gate  is  almost  exactly  in  a 
line  with  the  northern  scarp  of  the  platform  upon  which 
the  Dome  of  the  Rock  now  stands. 

As  to  the  name  “  Golden,"  it  represents  the  Latin  “  aurea," 
which  in  its  turn  was  a  corruption  of  the  Greek  ujpala, 
beautiful.  The  Ovpa  <l)pa[a,  or  Beautiful  Gate,  was,  in  fact, 
so  named  because  it  was  supposed  to  be  the  Beautiful  Gate 
of  the  Temple  “where  Peter  healed  the  lame  man  "  (Acts 
iii.  10).  But  Peter’s  “Beautiful  Gate"  was  certainly  not  in 


THE  TEMPLE  AREA 


235 

the  outer  wall  of  the  Temple,  but  in  the  inner  sacred 
enclosure,  and  it  has  utterly  disappeared  with  the  Temple 
itself.  We  cannot,  therefore,  connect  the  Golden  Gate  with 
that  NewTestament  event.  Can  we  connect  itwith  any  other? 

Well,  as  to  the  existing  gateway,  that  is  generally  admitted 
to  be  Byzantine,  and  dates,  it  is  believed,  from  the  reign  of 
Justinian.  But  it  was  in  all  probability  built  upon  the  site 
of  an  older  gateway,  the  Gate  Shushan  of  the  Talmud, 
which  was  the  only  gate  on  the  east  side  of  the  city.  If  so, 
it  was  at  this  point  that  Jesus  entered  the  city  riding  upon 
an  ass  on  that  first  Palm  Sunday,  when  “they  that  went 
before  and  they  that  followed  cried  ‘Hosanna:  Blessed  is 
He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.'  ”  The  Moslems 
believe  that  some  day  another  conqueror  will  enter  by  the 
same  gate,  and  that  he  will  wrest  the  city  from  the  Moslems 
and  give  it  to  the  Christians.  Therefore  they  keep  this  gate 
walled  up,  so  as  to  put  off  the  decree  of  Fate  to  the  last 
possible  moment,  or  possibly  circumvent  Fate  altogether  ! 

From  the  Golden  Gate  we  proceed  to  the  north-east 
corner,  peer  through  a  grating  covered  with  bits  of  rag,  the 
offerings  of  pilgrims,  and  look  down  into  the  Birket  Israin, 
regarded  by  the  Crusaders  as  the  Pool  of  Bethesda,  but  now 
a  mighty  dustbin,  filled  almost  to  the  brim  with  all  kinds  of 
city  filth  and  ordure.  So,  back  to  the  north-west  corner 
from  which  we  started,  and  home  through  the  crowded 
streets  an  hour  before  noon. 

I  have  said  nothing  about  the  great  cisterns  with  which  a 
large  part  of  the  Haram  is  honeycombed.  They  are  not 
included  in  the  sights  shown  to  tourists,  but  are  of  great 
importance  in  determining  the  boundaries  of  Herod's 
Temple,  as  well  as  the  levels  of  the  rock  upon  which  it  was 
built.  They  are  of  two  kinds  :  large  rock-cut  cisterns  roofed 
by  the  natural  rock  left  uncut ;  and  excavations  in  the  rock 
arched  over  with  masonry.  The  former  are  ancient,  the 
latter  comparatively  modern.  Those  of  the  ancient  kind 
have  been  made  by  mining  out  the  layer  of  soft  limestone 
and  leaving  over  it  the  roof  of  hard  limestone  which  overlies 
the  soft  :  they  probably  date  from  a  time  when  the  arch 
had  not  come  into  common  use.  One  of  them,  known  as 
the  Great  Sea,  could  contain  three  million  gallons ;  and  the 
tanks  all  taken  together  would  hold  more  than  ten  million 
gallons.* 

0  “Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  17;  Hastings,  D.B.,  “Jerusalem,” 
P-  598. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


236 

The  significant  facts  about  these  tanks  are  that  none  of 
the  ancient  sort  are  found  north  of  the  Dome  of  the  Rock, 
and  that  all  the  tanks  in  the  North-east  corner  are  roofed 
with  masonry ;  which  accords  with  the  theory  as  to  the 
northern  boundary  of  Herod's  Temple-plateau  which  has 
been  advocated  above.  On  the  other  hand,  the  greater 
number  of  the  ancient  tanks  lie  quite  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  Haram,  and  this  is  claimed  by  the  advocates  of  the 
south-west-Temple  theory  as  a  circumstance  in  their  favour. 
It  is  not,  however,  very  conclusive  as  an  argument,  since  it 
is  agreed  that  Solomon's  Palace,  which  would  also  need 
tanks,  occupied  the  south  of  the  Haram  ;  also  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  three  of  the  largest  tanks  are  not  to  the 
south,  but  close  to  the  Dome  of  the  Rock ;  and  finally, 
many  if  not  all  of  the  tanks  are  connected  with  each  other 
and  form  one  system.  This  vast  water-system  was  in 
Herod's  day,  and  perhaps  before,  supplied  by  means  of  the 
aqueducts  which  brought  water  from  the  southern  springs 
as  mentioned  in  a  prevous  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

JERUSALEM— THE  HOLY  FIRE 

At  noon  that  same  day,  Saturday,  April  13,  being  the  day 
before  the  Greek  Easter,  we  were  taken  under  the  protection 
of  officials  from  the  British  Consulate  and  marched  with  a 
few  other  Britons  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre, 
where  the  miraculous  fire  was  expected  to  burst  from  the 
Tomb  at  two  oclock  precisely. 

The  streets  were  now  thronged  with  men  and  women  of 
many  nationalities  and  religions  ;  multitudes  of  pilgrims 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  where  the  Greek  Church  is  to  be 
found  were  pressing  through  the  crowds  of  Jews  and 
Moslems,  their  streams  converging  on  the  great  Cathedral, 
where  the  annual  miracle  was  to  take  place.  The  tall  gentle¬ 
men  in  velvet  and  braid,  whom  the  Consul  had  sent,  did 
their  best  for  us  ;  their  silver-tipped  wands  rang  upon  the 
pavement,  and  their  stern  voices  bade  the  mob  fiercely  to 
make  way  for  us  ;  but  we  had  finally  to  fight  our  way  into 
the  church  all  the  same.  As  we  came  near  to  it  the  narrow 
avenues  were  so  polished  with  the  tramp  of  the  thousands 
that  it  was  difficult  to  keep  one's  feet,  and  human  dung 
along  the  sideway  reminded  us  that  vast  armies  had  en¬ 
camped  in  these  streets  for  four-and-twenty  hours  or 
more. 

Once  in  the  church,  however,  we  found  that  the  Consulate 
had  provided  us  with  good  seats  in  a  gallery  high  up  in  the 
rotunda,  whence  we  could  look  down  on  the  crushed, 
seething  mass  of  humanity  below  us.  At  first  we  could  see 
very  little,  for  the  church  was  very  dark  ;  what  light  there 
was  came  through  the  open  doorways  and  from  the 
windows  in  the  central  dome,  if  we  except  the  dim  red 
flare  of  torches  down  yonder  in  the  black  depths.  The  air 
was  thick  with  smoke  and  dust  and  human  steam,  and 
through  this  fog  a  shaft  of  white  sunlight  struck  across  the 
dome. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


238 

As  our  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  gloom  we  began 
to  make  out  the  amazing  scene  below  us,  a  mob  possessed 
by  a  fury,  a  frenzy  of  religion.  The  crowd  was  of  the  most 
motley  description,  Arab  Christians  with  turbaned  heads, 
Armenians,  Syrians,  Copts  in  dark  robes,  Abyssinians  in 
white,  and  a  large  contingent  of  Russian  pilgrims  with 
their  long  matted  locks  and  thick  woollen  coats.  For 
these  poor,  filthy,  pathetic  Russian  peasants  the  prayers 
and  hopes  of  a  lifetime  were  to  be  fulfilled  ;  many  of 
them  had  slept  in  the  precincts  of  the  church  all  night  ; 
to  fail  to  light  their  bundles  of  candles  at  the  holy  fire 
would  be  despair,  a  loss  to  them  in  the  next  world  as  well 
as  in  this.  They  looked  dim  down  there  in  the  shadows 
and  the  thick  air — these  fighting,  bruised,  frantic  masses  ; 
and  there  floated  up  to  us  an  indescribable  and  sickening 
stench. 

Around  the  gorgeous  erection  which  contains  the 
Sepulchre  a  lane  was  kept  open  by  Turkish  troops  with 
rifles  ;  and  from  this  circumambient  lane  avenues  radiated 
to  the  entrances,  which  were  kept  free  by  muscular  giants 
in  Arab  costume,  who  rushed  up  and  down  laying  about 
them  with  thick  whips.  We  could  hear  the  hiss  of  the 
lashes  as  they  cut  among  the  living  flesh.  Screams  and 
shouts  rose  above  the  dull  roar  of  the  multitude,  the  women 
trilled  their  strange  shrill  note,  and  the  butts  of  the  rifles 
rattled  on  the  pavement  of  the  church. 

At  about  two  o’clock  a  religious  procession  appeared  in 
the  central  lane,  which  the  soldiers  guarded.  It  passed  once 
round  the  Tomb  and  then  retired.  After  this  followed  along 
procession.  Then  another  procession  appeared — twelve 
banners,  followed  by  ecclesiastics  in  strange,  gorgeous, 
barbaric  apparel.  Three  times  they  walked  slowly  round 
the  central  sanctuary,  and  then  from  their  midst  the 
Patriarch  stepped,  cross  in  hand,  and  passed  within  the 
Chapel  of  the  Tomb,  all  the  vast  concourse  shouting  again 
and  again  a  sentence  which  I  was  told  meant  i(  God  bless 
the  Patriarch  !  "  Then  followed  a  time  of  suspense,  the 
crowd  almost  silent  :  one  could  feel  the  intensity  of  antici¬ 
pation,  the  strained,  eager,  breathless  waiting  of  the  people. 
Suddenly,  the  beating  of  brass,  frenzy,  fury,  fighting  !  The 
fire  has  appeared,  a  flame  has  flashed  through  the  fire-hole 
in  the  side  of  the  chapel ;  the  runners  have  lighted  their 
torches  from  it  and  rushed  furiously  down  the  guarded 
avenues.  At  the  door  a  horseman  waits  to  gallop  with  it  to 


JERUSALEM— THE  HOLY  FIRE  239 

Bethlehem.  Other  messengers  fly  off  with  it  to  the  Greeks, 
Armenians,  Copts  in  different  quarters  of  the  Eastern 
world.  (A  priest  told  me  that  the  Copts  pay  2000  dollars  for 
the  right  to  sell  the  holy  fire  in  Egypt  !) 

Meanwhile,  inside  the  church  the  soldiers  have  been 
overpowered  ;  their  line  is  broken,  and  they  gather  together 
in  a  compact  knot  surrounded  by  a  frantic  struggling  mob 
fighting  for  a  share  of  the  flame.  Thousands  of  arms  are 
stretched  out,  thousands  of  candles  are  thrust  towards  every 
kindled  centre,  and  in  two  or  three  minutes  the  whole 
church  is  one  blaze  of  light.  Far  beyond  the  rotunda,  in 
the  aisles  which  have  hitherto  been  hidden  in  darkness, 
vistas  of  many  thousand  lights  are  seen.  High  up  the 
church,  in  a  gallery  which  surrounds  the  rotunda,  native 
women,  dressed  in  white  with  streaks  and  spots  of  bright 
colour,  hold  burning  tapers  in  their  hands,  and  trill  out  the 
weird  zagharit  in  a  frenzy  of  excitement.  The  smoke  of  the 
torches  and  candles  fills  the  dome,  so  that  the  sunbeam 
which  has  been  travelling  round  as  the  hours  advanced 
looks  like  a  solid  thing. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  people's  belief  in  the 
efficacy  of  the  fire.  We  could  see  them  passing  their  hands 
through  the  flame,  wiping  it  on  their  heads,  their  faces,  their 
breasts.  Meanwhile,  on  the  roof  of  the  gilded  shrine  priests 
were  at  work  lighting  the  candles  and  oil  lamps  with  which 
it  was  adorned.  When  they  had  finished  their  work  all  the 
pilgrim-lights  in  the  centre  of  the  church  were  put  out,  and 
then  followed  a  series  of  processions  representing  the 
various  divisions  of  the  Greek  Church,  each  procession 
being  headed  by  its  bishop,  gorgeously  arrayed,  and  all  the 
clergy  carrying  lighted  candles.  Round  and  round  the 
central  shrine  they  circled  till  the  eye  was  dazed  and  the 
head  sick.  We  wearied  at  length  of  this  endless  wheel  of 
superstition,  and  left  the  church. 

The  upper  and  middle  classes  of  Jerusalem  of  course  are 
well  aware  how  gross  is  the  imposture  which  is  thus  annually 
played  upon  the  poor  ignorant  peasants  of  the  Eastern 
world.  They  know  well  that  the  Patriarch  when  he  enters 
the  Holy  Tomb  carries  with  him  a  box  of  matches  where¬ 
with  to  kindle  the  “  miraculous  ”  fire.  The  Patriarch  himself 
is  uneasy  over  the  part  he  plays  :  at  least,  in  the  year  of 
which  I  am  writing  he  preached  a  sermon  before  the  festival, 
in  which  he  explained  that  the  fire  was  to  be  taken  as  a 
symbol  of  the  spiritual  fire  which  breaks  from  the  Tomb  of 


240 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  Redeemer  ;  but  the  sermon  was  so  obscurely  worded 
that  the  common  people  were  not  scandalised.  Had  they 
been  aware  of  the  drift  of  the  discourse,  I  was  assured 
that  they  would  have  torn  the  Patriarch  to  pieces,  so 
convinced  are  they  of  the  miraculous  nature  of  the 
occurrence. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 


JERUSALEM— CONDER’S  SEPULCHRE— AN  ADVENTURE 

AT  THE  VIRGIN’S  WELL 

In  the  morning  following  upon  our  dream  of  the  Holy 
Fire — for  as  we  look  back  upon  it,  it  seems  like  a  weird 
vision  more  than  a  reality — we  took  our  young  Christian 
dragoman  with  us  and  visited  the  tomb  which  Conder  has 
regarded  as  possibly  the  true  Sepulchre  of  Christ.  It  is 
situated  about  200  yards  from  “  Gordon’s  Calvary  ”  (the 
road  runs  between  that  knoll  and  Conder’s  tomb)  and  it  is 
cut  in  the  east  face  of  a  rock-platform  scarped  on  all  sides, 
which  is  believed  by  many  to  have  formed  the  foundation 
for  a  tower.  It  is  approached  through  a  rough  open  recess 
in  the  rock,  from  which  a  narrow  passage  on  the  right 
leads  to  a  tomb  with  a  single  loculus.  Passing  this  entrance 
and  going  straight  forward  you  enter  a  rude,  much  broken 
doorway  cut  in  the  rock  and  having  a  window  four  feet 
square  on  each  side  of  it  (Fig.  62).  You  descend  two  steps 
and  find  yourself  in  a  chamber  measuring  six  feet  by  nine. 
The  places  for  the  bodies  open  out  from  this,  on  the  right, 
on  the  left  and  in  front.  In  all  three  directions  run  very 
narrow  passages,  in  which  it  is  just  possible  to  stand,  and 
each  passage  has  a  rock  shelf  or  bench  on  the  right,  on  the  left, 
and  in  front,  every  bench  being  broad  enough  for  two  bodies. 
The  whole  inner  tomb  would  thus  hold  eighteen  bodies. 

When  the  tomb  was  first  excavated  a  slab  was  found  in 
it,  with  the  words  0^  SicKpepovg,  “  Private  Sepulchre,”  and  a 
cross.  The  slab  would  date  from  the  fifth  or  sixth  century 
A.D.,  and  is  Christian  ;  the  tomb,  however,  it  is  confidently 
asserted,  is  not  of  Christian  origin,  but  belongs  to  “the 
centuries  immediately  preceding  the  Christian  era.* 

It  may  be  noted,  in  connection  with  this  tomb,  that  in 
Christ's  time  the  Jewish  cemetery  then  in  use  lay  to  the  north 
of  the  city,  a  circumstance  which  tells,  of  course,  against 
*  P.E  F.  Mem.,  “  Jerusalem  Vol,”  p.  434. 

Q 


242 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  traditional  Calvary  and  Sepulchre,  and  in  favour  of  the 
neighbourhood  of  this  tomb  which  we  have  just  visited. 

When  we  had  explored  this  interesting  and  tantalising 
spot  I  left  my  companion  to  wander  as  he  would,  and  went 
off  with  our  young  dragoman  Nassar  to  the  Virgin's  Well, 
where  I  had  been  disappointed  on  a  former  occasion  in  my 
hope  to  see  the  rising  of  the  waters.  I  was  determined 
upon  this  occasion  to  be  in  time,  and  was  on  the  spot  at 
ten  o'clock,  the  rising  of  the  water  being  expected  at  eleven. 
Some  women,  we  were  told,  were  washing  themselves  in 
the  water  for  the  cure  of  their  diseases,  and  we  could  not 
descend  the  steps  to  the  well  until  they  came  up.  Presently 
they  appeared,  clad  in  their  loose  blue  gowns  and  long  white 
veils,  and  we  descended. 

The  long  flight  of  thirty  steps  is  divided  into  two.  I  left 
Nassar  on  the  landing  at  the  foot  of  the  first  flight,  and 
descending  the  second  flight  alone,  seated  myself  on  a 
camp-stool  close  to  the  hole  by  which  the  waters  rise,  which 
is  just  large  enough  to  admit  the  body  of  a  man,  and  is  about 
eight  or  ten  feet  deep.  For  nearly  an  hour  I  sat  there 
“  waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  waters,"  but  still  no  water 
came.  A  number  of  women  and  girls  from  Siloam  had  by 
this  time  gathered  with  their  jars  and  water-skins.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  well  was  a  little  pool  of  water  into  which  a 
driblet  from  the  spring  was  flowing.  The  water  ought  to 
have  come  before  this,  and  the  women  were  tired  of 
waiting,  so  a  young  girl  let  herself  down  the  hole,  taking 
with  her  a  tin  mug.  The  skins  were  then  let  down  to  her 
one  by  one,  and  she  baled  the  water  into  them.  She  kept 
this  up  for  about  half  an  hour,  and  then  an  old  woman  took 
her  place. 

A  crowd  of  thirty  or  forty  women  had  by  this  time  arrived 
with  their  skins  and  pots  :  the  steps  were  thronged  with 
them.  They  were  all  women  of  Siloam,  a  very  rough  set, 
strong,  tall  and  well-knit,  but  of  a  coarse  type,  reminding 
one  strongly  in  voice  and  demeanour  of  our  coster-girls  at 
home.  They  shouted  and  screamed  at  the  top  of  their 
voices,  laughing  loudly  or  quarrelling  loudly  as  the  case 
might  be.  A  man  of  equally  coarse  type  came  down  the 
steps,  pushing  his  way  through  them  ;  and,  hustling  me  very 
rudely  as  he  passed,  disappeared  into  the  tunnel  which,  as 
explained  in  a  previous  chapter,  joins  this  spring  with  the 
Pool  of  Siloam.  He  stank  horribly,  and  was  probably 
suffering  from  some  skin-disease.  We  heard  him  presently 


FIG.  63. — THE  VILLAGE  OF  SII.OAM 


CONDER'S  SEPULCHRE 


243 


splashing  himself  with  the  water  of  one  of  the  pools  which 
form  on  the  uneven  floor  of  the  tunnel.  Presently  he  re¬ 
appeared  out  of  the  darkness  and  ascended  the  steps,  and 
only  the  screaming  crowd  of  women  and  girls  was  left. 

Still  the  water  did  not  come.  The  women  began  to  get 
insolent,  pushing  me  and  shaking  their  fingers  in  my  face. 
They  were  evidently  angry  with  me  ;  but  as  I  did  not  know 
their  tongue  I  could  not  tell  the  cause  of  their  anger,  and 
continued  to  sit  upon  my  stool  with  my  eye  fixed  upon  the 
opening  from  which  the  water  was  presently  to  flow.  One 
splendid  creature,  a  girl  of  two  or  three  and  twenty,  planted 
herself  with  her  back  against  the  wall  of  the  cave,  and  her 
long  straight  limbs  outstretched  in  such  a  way  as  to  hide 
the  orifice  of  the  well  from  my  sight.  There  she  leaned, 
laughing  in  my  face,  every  curve  of  her  body  revealed  by 
the  loose  flowing  drapery  of  her  dark  blue  gown,  the 
embodiment  of  health  and  energy.  What  her  object  was, 
whether  coquetry,  or  obstruction,  or  sheer  impudence,  I 
could  not  tell :  but  Nassar  explained  to  me  afterwards  that 
the  women  believed  I  was  exercising  the  evil  eye,  and  this 
they  thought  was  why  the  water  did  not  rise  at  the  usual 
hour.  They  were  angry,  he  said,  that  I  kept  my  gaze  fixed 
so  steadily  upon  the  well,  and  this  girl  was  trying  to  inter¬ 
pose  her  body  between  the  well  and  my  blighting  vision. 
He  also  said  that  they  threatened  to  beat  us  or  push  us  into 
the  water,  and  that  he  had  been  forced  to  bribe  them  with 
a  promise  of  bakhshish  if  they  would  keep  quiet  till  the  water 
came. 

At  length,  at  a  quarter  to  twelve,  the  old  woman  down  the 
pit  got  tired  and  scrambled  up,  and  a  young  girl  went  down 
to  do  the  baling.  Scarcely  had  she  vanished  into  the  hole 
when  suddenly  her  head  reappeared  ;  she  came  clambering 
out  in  the  utmost  haste,  sounding  the  shrill  “zagharit,”  and 
all  the  women  set  up  a  great  scream.  Silently,  swiftly,  the 
water  rose  in  the  well,  rushing  up  the  eight  or  ten  feet  in  a 
few  seconds,  and  beginning  to  flow  down  the  tunnel  in 
which  I  was  standing.  Ordinarily  the  water  would  have 
risen  high  in  the  arch,  almost  filling  the  conduit  in  places 
where  the  roof  is  low,  but  for  a  year  or  two  the  water  had 
not  risen  to  its  normal  height,  some  defector  fissure  having 
drained  off  the  spring  before  it  reached  the  dipping-hole.* 
Very  soon,  however,  it  reached  the  top  of  my  boots,  and  I 
took  refuge  on  the  bottom  step.  It  rose  to  this  level  also  ; 

*  This  has  since  been  discovered  and  remedied  ;  see  p.  ?T2  ante. 


244 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


but  beyond  that  it  did  not  come.  There  was  quite  sufficient 
water,  however,  for  the  stream  to  go  rushing  down 
Hezekiah’s  Conduit  on  its  way  to  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  and 
one  could  well  understand  how,  upon  its  reaching  that 
pool,  a  considerable  troubling  of  the  surface  would  take 
place.* 

Well,  I  had  seen  the  wonderful  sight,  and  began  to  climb 
the  steps  toward  the  sunlight  and  fresh  air.  Then  came  a 
scene  of  confusion  and  uproar.  Those  to  whom  Nassar 
had,  all  unknown  to  me,  promised  bakhshish  began  to 
clamour  for  payment.  The  youth  distributed  what  small 
coins  he  had,  but  could  not  of  course  find  nearly  enough  to 
satisfy  the  crowd  of  girls  and  women  by  whom  he  was 
being  mobbed.  They  began  to  clutch  hold  of  me  and  feel 
my  pockets,  and  I  was  in  the  awkward  dilemma  of  having 
to  hit  out,  which  in  a  crowd  of  women  I  could  not  bring 
myself  to  do,  or  allow  myself  to  be  robbed.  I  did  what  I 
could  by  rapping  their  mischievous  knuckles  with  my 
umbrella,  and  pushed  my  way  as  speedily  as  possible 
through  the  angry  throng.  But  the  vigorous  use  of  my 
elbows  left  my  side  pockets  unprotected,  and  very  soon 
sketch-book,  note-book,  Baedeker,  letters,  silk  handkerchief, 
and  many  other  articles  were  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Some  things  I  got  back  by  force,  others  I  bought  back,  but 
the  handkerchief  of  coloured  silk  was  too  highly  prized  to 
be  parted  with,  and  that  I  never  recovered. 

Before  we  leave  the  subject  of  Siloam  and  St.  Mary's 
Well,  I  must  mention  one  sight  which  interested  me  much. 
While  we  were  waiting  at  the  well  I  inquired  of  the  Siloam 
women,  through  my  interpreter,  whether  they  knew  of  any 
place  in  their  village  named  Zahweleh.  I  suppose  my  pro¬ 
nunciation  was  defective,  for  they  answered  in  the  negative. 
But  presently  a  bright  girl  exclaimed,  “  Zahweleh  !  yes  !  the 
place  where  the  steps  come  down."  Afterwards,  when  we 
had  escaped  from  the  furies  and  clambered  up  the  slope 
towards  Jerusalem,  we  turned  and  looked  across  the  narrow 
ravine  at  the  village  of  Silwan  on  the  opposing  steep 
(Fig.  63) ;  and  then  Nassar  pointed  out  to  me  the  steps  cut 
in  the  face  of  the  rock,  where  a  woman  bearing  a  water-pot 
was  at  that  moment  descending  with  cautious  tread. 
“Zahweleh,"  said  Nassar,  “means  slippery." 

This  rock  has  been  identified  with  “the  Stone  of 
Zoheleth  "  mentioned  in  1  Kings  i.  9,  and  at  first  sight  the 

0  See  ante,  chap,  xxxiii. 


CONDER’S  SEPULCHRE 


245 


identification  seems  probable  enough.  But  of  course  the 
name  alone  is  hardly  sufficient  to  fix  the  place.  At  the 
root  of  both  names  is  a  verb  meaning  u  to  creep  }*  or 
“  crawl  ”  :  in  Job  xxxii.  6  it  is  used  of  one  who  walks  with 
faltering  feet.  It  is  quite  possible,  therefore,  that  the  people 
of  Silwan  may  use  the  word  of  a  rock  with  slippery  steps, 
while  the  ancient  Hebrews  may  have  used  it  of  a  stone 
named  after  the  creeping  serpent.  Zoheleth  may  mean 
u  serpent,”  and  the  stone  of  Zoheleth  may  mean  the 
Serpent-stone,  and  it  may  quite  possibly  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  rock-cut  steps  of  Siloam. 

One  reason  for  refusing  to  identify  the  Rock  Zahweleh 
with  the  Stone  of  Zoheleth  is  that  “  Eben,”  the  word  here 
used  for  stone,  cannot  properly  be  used  of  a  rock,  but 
means  always  a  movable  stone ;  and  taking  this  into 
account,  the  probability  would  certainly  seem  to  be  that 
the  Stone  of  Zoheleth  or  Serpent  Stone  was  a  rude  pillar  or 
menhir  standing  beside  the  Serpent  Spring — the  Dragon’s 
Well,  as  St.  Mary's  Fount  is  often  called  to  this  day.* 

Instead  of  supposing,  therefore,  that  Adonijah's  sacrifice 
and  coronation-festival  was  held  at  the  rock  Zahweleh 
across  the  valley  yonder,  as  some  have  imagined,  I  would 
suggest  that  the  true  account  of  the  matter  is  as  follows  : 
The  ancient  spring  en-Rogel,  which  largely  determined  the 
site  of  the  City  of  David,  was  held  to  be  sacred,  and  was 
known  as  the  Serpent's  Well.  Beside  it  stood  a  sacred 
stone,  known  as  the  Serpent  Stone.  In  accordance  with 
widespread  primitive  custom,  kings  must  be  crowned  by  or 
upon  this  stone. f  Adonijah  with  his  party  comes  down 
there,  is  crowned,  and  returns  to  Jerusalem  to  feast. J  Then 
comes  the  priest  Zadok,  bringing  Solomon  and  the  oppo¬ 
sition  party  to  the  same  spot  in  the  valley  of  Gihon. 
Solomon  likewise  is  crowned  by  the  stone  and  returns  to 
the  city;  the  main  part  of  Jerusalem  follows  him;  and 
Adonijah  flees. 

*  Compare  Cheyne,  “  Encycl.  Bibl.,”  “  Zoheleth.” 

f  Compare  the  Scottish  Coronation-stone  and  the  stone  at  Kingston- 
on-Thames. 

+  See  1  Kings  i.  45,  “  They  are  come  [not  ‘  gone  ’]  up  from  thence 
rejoicing,  so  that  the  city  rang  again.” 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 


A  DRIVE  TO  BETHANY 

Bethany  is  an  easy  walk  from  Jerusalem,  but  our  morning’s 
tramp  had  wearied  us,  so  we  hired  a  carriage  and  drove 
thither  in  the  afternoon,  crossing  the  Kidron,  passing  the 
slaughter-house  with  its  everlasting  wheel  of  vultures,  and 
ascended  the  slope  of  Olivet.  You  pass  over  the  brow  of 
the  mountain;  and  a  short  mile  beyond,  on  the  further  or 
Eastern  slope,  just  before  you  come  to  the  steep,  almost 
precipitous,  descent  towards  Jericho,  stands  the  little  village 
of  Lazarus,  as  the  Arabs  call  it.  There  is  almost  unanimous 
consent  as  to  the  spot,  although  the  old  name  has  dis¬ 
appeared.  Certainly  the  situation  suits  the  story,  and  the 
tradition  is  unbroken  from  the  fourth  century.  Schwartz, 
however,  finds  Bethany  in  Beth-hanan,  on  the  Mount  of 
Offence,  above  Siloam.* 

From  a  little  distance  the  village  is  beautiful.  The  houses 
nestle  among  oaks  and  olives  and  almond- trees,  and  in 
their  midst  a  grey  and  ruined  tower  forms  a  most  effective 
feature.  As  to  this  tower,  it  is  curious  that  no  one  has  so 
much  as  a  guess  to  offer  who  built  it,  and  why,  and 
when.  The  character  of  the  masonry  proclaims  it  as  older 
than  Crusading  times.  Perhaps  it  is  Roman,  but  late  Roman 
one  would  say.  It  is  not  likely  that  it  stood  there  in 
Christ's  time. 

Indeed,  there  is  no  sort  of  relic  to  connect  the  village 
with  Him  for  whose  sake  we  have  come  here.  You  may 
see  the  house  of  Mary  and  Martha,  and  the  house  of  Simon 
the  Leper,  and  the  tomb  of  Lazarus  ;  and  we  saw  them  : 
we  even  took  our  lighted  candles  and  descended  the  long 
flight  of  steps  into  the  so-called  “  tomb.”  But  these  sites 
have  such  a  way  of  shifting  themselves  from  time  to  time, 
at  the  call  of  convenience,  that  faith  refuses  to  spread  her 
wings,  and  we  are  left  to  crawl  among  the  dust  and  filth 

i:>  Smith,  D.  B.  (1893),  P-  4°4- 


A  DRIVE  TO  BETHANY 


247 

of  this  very  dirty  little  village,  which,  like  many  other 
holy  things  and  places,  is  beautiful  only  from  a  distance. 
That,  at  least,  would  have  to  be  our  verdict,  but  for  one 
supreme  bit  of  loveliness  which  Bethany  has  painted  on 
the  memory — the  glory  of  the  blossoming  pomegranates. 

Returning,  we  left  our  carriage  and  walked  over  the 
summit  of  the  hill  by  the  old  mule-track.  There  are,  as 
pointed  out  by  Dean  Stanley,  three  possible  routes  by  which 
travellers  from  Jericho  through  Bethany  can  approach 
Jerusalem  :  one  towards  the  north  between  Olivet  proper 
and  Scopus  ;  a  second,  the  mule-track,  over  the  summit ; 
and  a  third,  to  the  south  between  Olivet  and  the  Mount  of 
Offence.  It  is  by  the  last  that  he  supposes  Christ’s  triumphal 
procession  to  have  travelled.  That  is,  indeed,  the  natural 
route  to  take,  and  the  most  usual  one  for  caravans  or  pro¬ 
cessions  such  as  that  which  followed  Jesus.  My  object  in 
following  the  old  mule-track  was  to  see  whether  it  offered 
an  extensive  view  of  the  Holy  City  at  any  point  antecedent 
to  its  junction  with  the  lower  road.  There  is  one  point  in 
its  course,  I  found,  whence  one  sees  the  southern  part  of 
the  city,  with  a  small  part  of  the  Haram  ;  but  the  Dome  of 
the  Rock,  where  the  Temple  stood,  is  not  in  view.  The  glimpse 
one  gets  does  not,  indeed,  differ  materially  from  the  first 
sight  of  the  city  obtained  in  travelling  by  the  lower 
road,  as  described  by  Dean  Stanley.  So  that  there  is  by 
this  route  no  spot  which  can  compete  with  that  at  which 
Stanley  supposes  the  lament  of  Jesus  to  have  been 
uttered. 

In  short,  supposing  the  Gospel  account  to  be  historical 
in  detail,  the  Dean’s  topography  may,  I  think,  be  accepted. 
“  As  he  was  now  drawing  nigh,  even  at  the  descent  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  the  whole  multitude  of  the  disciples  began 
to  rejoice  and  praise  God  with  a  loud  voice  for  all  the 
mighty  works  which  they  had  seen  ;  saying,  Blessed  is  the 
King  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.”  That  out¬ 
burst  takes  place  at  the  first  sight  of  the  city,  the  imperfect 
partial  sight  which  one  gets  just  “at  the  descent  of  the 
Mount,”  by  whichever  route,  the  middle  or  the  southern, 
one  is  travelling.  A  few  minutes  further,  just  where  the 
old  mule-track  joins  the  lower  road,  the  city  is  again  hidden 
from  view.  Ten  minutes  more  and  the  road  rises  again, 
the  whole  panorama  of  Jerusalem  bursts  upon  the  gaze,  the 
eastern  and  northern  walls  are  seen  to  their  full  extent, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  picture  rises  the  Dome  of  the  Rock 


248 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


and  the  whole  area  of  the  Haram.  This  must,  without 
doubt,  if  the  account  is  historical  at  all,  have  been  the 
spot  where  the  great  lament  was  made  :  “  When  He  drew 
nigh,  He  saw  the  city  and  wept  over  it,  saying  If  thou  hadst 
known  in  this  day,  even  thou,  the  things  that  belong  unto 
thy  peace  !  But  now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes." 

In  spite,  however,  of  this  topographical  fitness,  one  can¬ 
not  but  doubt  whether  it  was  upon  this  occasion  that  Jesus 
wept  over  the  city.  There  is  no  hint  of  any  such  weeping 
in  the  oldest  Gospel,  neither  is  there  any  trace  of  it  in  St. 
Matthew.  Luke  alone  gives  it,  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  he 
gives  us  two  such  weepings.  According  to  him  the  first 
one  took  place  in  Galilee,  when  Jesus  uttered  the  beauti¬ 
ful  lament,  “  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,"*  and  the  second  took 
place  at  the  Entry  into  Jerusalem  when  He  uttered  the 
words  quoted  above. f  But  Matthew  places  the  former 
lament  at  the  close  of  Christ's  great  invective  uttered  in  the 
Temple,  J  later  than  His  triumphal  entry,  and  after  the 
chief  priests  and  elders  had  openly  rejected  Him.  §  One  is 
fain  to  think  that  the  two  laments  were  one,  and  that 
they  were  not  made  upon  that  day  of  rejoicing  when  the 
multitudes  had  joined  cause  with  the  new  Messiah,  and 
when  there  was  yet  hope  that  the  Holy  City  itself  might  be 
won  for  Him  ;  but  rather,  as  St.  Matthew  records,  after  that 
hope  had  been  dashed  to  the  ground,  and  the  great  men  of 
the  city  had  declared  their  hostility. 

It  may  nevertheless  well  have  been  at  this  turn  in  the 
road  from  Bethany  that  u  He  saw  the  city  and  wept  over  it," 
perhaps  upon  one  of  those  many  walks  from  the  house  of 
Mary  and  Martha  to  the  Holy  City,  in  those  days  when 
death  was  hanging  over  Him,  and  when  every  night  He 
“  went  forth  out  of  the  city  to  Bethany,  and  lodged  there." 


*  Luke  xiii.  34. 

\  Matt,  xxiii.  37. 


f  Luke  xix.  42. 
§  Matt.  xxi.  23. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 


A  WALK  THROUGH  JERUSALEM 

The  morning  of  our  last  clear  day  in  the  Holy  Land 
(Monday,  April  14)  we  devoted  to  a  walk  through  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem.  Our  friend,  Mr.  Khadder,  the  Bishop’s 
curate,  most  courteous  and  helpful  of  men,  took  us  under 
his  wing  and  showed  us  many  sights  illustrative  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  words  which  we  should  never  have  discovered  for 
ourselves. 

The  Easter  excitement  has  partly  subsided,  but  the  streets 
are  still  very  crowded.  Here  is  a  group  of  donkeys 
tethered  by  the  city  gate,  there  is  a  string  of  them  trotting 
along  the  narrow  street,  with  the  men  behind  them  shout¬ 
ing,  “  Oo-waJ  Oo-wa  !  ”  A  camel  comes  swinging  along, 
filling  the  bazaar  from  side  to  side.  On  the  kerb  sit  bread- 
sellers,  with  loaves  in  their  laps,  a  Jew  of  the  Ashkenazim 
passes,  thin  and  bent,  a  round  felt  hat  on  his  head,  beneath 
the  brim  of  which  hang  the  two  long  curls,  one  on  either 
side.  Two  men  stand  in  lively  converse,  friendship  beam¬ 
ing  from  their  eyes  :  they  hold  each  other’s  hands  all  the 
time  they  talk,  just  as  some  gushing  old  ladies  do  in 
England.  Here  and  there  are  women  of  the  upper 
classes  wearing  black  veils,  and  wrapped  in  white  man¬ 
tles,  which  just  reach  to  their  high-topped  opera-dancers’ 
boots. 

As  we  passed  a  wide  street  near  one  of  the  gates,  Mr. 
Khadder  pointed  out  a  number  of  men  standing,  lying,  or 
squatting  on  the  pavement ;  they  were  waiting  for  employ¬ 
ment — “  Why  stand  ye  here  idle  all  day  ?  Because  no  man 
hath  hired  us.”  Here  again  were  a  number  of  Jewish 
money-changers  in  their  shops  ;  just  such  people  doing 
their  business  in  just  such  a  way  as  when  Christ  cast  the 
money-changers  out  of  the  Temple. 

We  saw  many  artificers  at  work.  In  one  place  a  tanner 


5° 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


had  laid  his  leather  in  the  street,  so  that  every  one  who  came 
that  way  might  walk  upon  it ;  this  was  a  primitive  way  of 
hardening  the  leather.  In  another  place  a  brass-worker 
exposed  his  wares,  among  them  brass-topped  staves  with 
the  name  of  Allah  worked  into  the  design  ;  these  are  the 
magic  wands  of  the  dervishes.  We  saw  the  process  of  silk¬ 
weaving  by  hand  ;  the  warp  is  of  hair,  the  woof  of  silk. 
We  went  into  the  shop  of  “  Alexander  the  copper-smith," 
and  saw  him  pewtering  a  copper-pan.  We  saw  a  dyer  with 
his  vats  full  of  dyes  ;  he  ladled  them  out  by  means  of 
gourds,  the  stem  of  the  gourd  forming  the  handle  of  the 
bowl.  In  another  shop  we  saw  quantities  of  woven  goats- 
hair,  used  for  tent-making,  which  our  friend  told  us  had 
been  actually  woven  in  Tarsus,  where  St.  Paul  worked  at 
the  same  handicraft. 

In  a  corn-dealer’s  we  saw  a  woman  buying  corn.  The 
method  of  purchase  is  for  the  buyer  to  pay  so  much  for  a 
measure  of  corn  and  then  to  fill  the  measure  herself.  The 
good  woman  whom  we  watched  “  shook  it  together  "  and 
“pressed  it  down "  repeatedly,  the  process  taking  quite  a 
long  time.  Then  she  piled  it  up  till  it  “ran  over"  the  rim, 
then  patted  the  heap  all  round,  and  tried  to  pile  on  a  little 
more  till  it  ran  over  again — “pressed down,  shaken  together, 
and  running  over " :  I  suppose  when  the  Gospel-spirit 
prevails  the  seller  will  do  this  rather  than  the  buyer.  Mr. 
Khadder  asked  the  man  who  sold  the  corn,  and  who  wore 
the  loose  dress  of  the  fellahin,  how  he  would  carry  home 
such  a  measure  of  corn  if  he  were  buying  it,  and  he 
promptly  answered  “in  my  bosom,"  looping  up  his  dress 
to  illustrate  his  words. 

We  next  saw  a  potter  using  the  old  potter’s-wheel  of 
Scripture.  It  consisted  of  two  solid  horizontal  wheels,  an 
upper  and  a  lower,  connected  by  a  perpendicular  spindle. 
The  clay  is  put  upon  the  upper  wheel,  which  is  whirled 
round  by  placing  the  naked  foot  upon  the  lower  and 
larger  wheel  and  giving  repeated  shoves ;  there  is  no 
treadle.  We  entered  a  soap-factory,  and  saw  soap  being 
made  of  olive-oil  and  lime.  The  oil  is  kept  in  skins, 
through  which  it  appeared  to  sweat  and  ooze  to  a  con¬ 
siderable  extent. 

Our  kind  friend  then  took  us  to  visit  the  house  of  a 
Mohammedan  tax-gatherer  (a  “publican")  in  the  Turkish 
service.  He  was  a  man  of  the  better  class,  in  command 
of  soldiers  whose  duty  it  was  to  collect  the  taxes  with  or 


A  WALK  THROUGH  JERUSALEM  251 

without  the  whip.*  He  told  us  with  pride  that  his  family 
had  been  in  the  service  of  the  government  for  150  years, 
and  that  he  was  descended  from  one  of  the  twelve  com¬ 
panions  of  the  Prophet.  Lemonade  was  served  in  glasses  ; 
then  more  conversation,  and  then  cafe  a  la  Turc,  very 
strong  and  very  sweet,  in  tiny  cups.  The  guests  wiped 
their  mouths  on  a  long  towel,  which  was  handed  round  to 
all  the  company.  Of  course  we  saw  nothing  of  the  women. 
They  prepared  the  coffee  downstairs,  and  it  was  brought  to 
the  “  guest-chamber  ”  upstairs  by  a  boy. 

We  were  next  taken  to  a  Christian  house  of  the  middle- 
class.  The  family  consisted  of  father,  mother,  and  one  son 
Ibrahim,  of  fifteen.  The  father,  a  builder  by  trade,  received 
us,  then  the  mother  appeared  in  a  silk  dress  and  shook 
hands  all  round.  She  was  unveiled,  but  had  a  bright  blue 
gauze  handkerchief  over  her  head.  The  house  consisted 
of  two  rooms.  The  coffee  was  made  downstairs  ;  the  room 
in  which  we  were  received  was  a  large,  airy,  comfortable 
apartment,  containing  at  one  end  a  great  four-posted  bed¬ 
stead  with  enclosing  curtains,  and  a  smaller  bed  beside  it, 
presumably  for  the  son  Ibrahim.  At  the  other  end  were  a 
broad  comfortable  couch  and  some  chairs. 

Here  the  hostess  managed  the  hospitality,  and  of  course 
it  was  much  better  done  than  in  the  Moslem  house  where 
the  man  managed  matters.  First  we  had  lemonade 
flavoured  with  orange-blossoms,  which  was  very  delicious. 
Then  each  guest  was  provided  with  a  long  towel  to  serve 
as  a  table-napkin,  measuring  about  four  feet  by  one,  with 
fringe  at  each  end.  If  this  is,  as  Mr.  Khadder  affirmed,  the 
traditional  shape,  it  would  explain  Christ  “  girding  Himself  ” 
with  a!  towel  after  supper.  Next  came  Turkish  coffee, 
followed  by  a  liqueur-glass  of  arak,  tasting  strongly  of 
aniseed.  The  anise,  which  with  the  mint  and  cummin  was 
tithed  in  the  old  times,  is  commonly  used  in  the  East  in  the 
manufacture  of  cordials.  The  arak  was  accompanied  with 
a  pot  of  jelly  and  a  teaspoon.  It  is  correct  to  swallow  the 
liqueur  at  a  gulp  and  take  a  spoonful  of  jelly  immediately 
after  it.  Each  guest  was  then  served  with  a  small  sweet 
cake  shaped  like  a  dumpling.  If  you  do  not  wish  to  eat 
this,  the  etiquette  is  to  put  it  in  your  pocket,  but  you  must 

*  The  taxes  are  often  ruinous.  Fruit  trees,  for  instance,  are  taxed 
not  according  to  what  they  bear,  but  according  to  what  it  is  estimated 
they  ought  to  bear ;  consequently  in  bad  fruit  seasons  whole  villages 
are  sometimes  deserted  for  fear  of  the  soldiers’  lash. 


252 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


on  no  account  decline  it.  Finally  a  dish  of  freshly  cut 
roses  was  handed  round,  most  deliciously  scented,  being 
of  the  kind  from  which  the  attar  is  made  ;  each  guest  was 
pressed  to  take  two  or  three.  Then  we  shook  hands,  carry¬ 
ing  with  us  a  delightful  impression  of  genial  and  smiling 
hospitality,  gentleness  and  refinement  of  demeanour,  and 
of  the  face  of  a  Christian  man  not  to  be  forgotten. 


CHAPTER  XL 


FAREWELL 

En  route  for  Jaffa  ;  half-past  seven  in  the  morning  at  the 
Jerusalem  railway  station  ;  the  usual  Oriental  confusion  ; 
no  sign  of  organisation,  no  attempt  at  it.  Nassar  managed 
to  get  us  seats,  but  with  luggage  around  us  and  atop  of  us  ; 
people  and  portmanteaus  all  wedged  together  in  such  a  way 
that  the  people  could  not  move  nor  their  luggage  be  moved. 
The  ticket-collector  tried  to  enter  the  carriage,  but  gave  it 
up,  and  we  departed  with  tickets  unclipped.  Pilgrims  were 
piled  upon  each  other  in  stacks,  regardless  of  the  class  to 
which  the  carriage  professed  to  belong.  Once  a  fierce  fight 
occurred,  but  not  much  damage  was  done  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  the  fighters  were  too  much  hampered  by  their 
surroundings.  Four  hours  of  this  and  we  were  set  upon 
the  quay  waiting  for  our  steamer. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  April  16,  we  took  our  seats 
in  the  rowing-boat,  and,  to  the  sing-song  of  the  Arab  boat¬ 
men,  were  shot  through  the  narrow  slit  in  the  reef  and  rowed 
toward  our  steamer,  which  lay  outside.  The  smiling  face 
and  waving  hand  of  Nassar  vanished  into  the  distance,  and 
a  gentle  melancholy  stole  over  me  to  think  of  the  kind 
countenances  that  I  should  never  see  again,  the  suffering 
peasants  who  would  continue  to  suffer,  the  sacred  spots  so 
sadly  desecrated,  the  great  Divine  life  of  the  Master  so 
hidden  in  the  twilight  of  the  past  that  all  our  labours  and 
fatigues  could  help  us  but  a  very  little  to  realise  it  as  it 
was  really  lived.  And  then,  as  we  pulled  out  to  sea,  and 
the  boat  leaped  the  wave,  and  the  breeze  blew  fresh  about 
our  temples,  there  sprang  up  within  us  happiness  and  down¬ 
right  glee  to  feel  that  our  faces  were  once  more  set  toward 
a  land  which,  with  all  its  faults  (and  they  are  many),  is 
nevertheless  a  holier  land  than  that  which  we  had  left 
behind. 


APPENDICES 


A.  THE  NAZARETH  QUESTION 

(See  p.  45.) 

Canon Cheyne,  in  the  article  “  Nazareth,”  in  the  Encyclopedia  Biblica, 
puts  forth  the  startling  surmise  that  there  may  have  been  no  “  city 
called  Nazareth  ”  existing  in  the  time  of  Jesus  ;  and  that  at  any  rate 
the  name  Nazareth  was  originally  attached  to  a  large  district,  in  fact 
to  the  whole  province  of  Galilee. 

No  such  town  as  Nazareth,  he  tells  us,  is  mentioned  in  the  Old 
Testament,  in  Josephus,  or  in  the  Talmud  ;  and  there  are  two 
New  Testament  passages  which  may  well  suggest  a  doubt  whether 
Nazareth  was  at  that  time  the  name  of  a  town  at  all. 

One  of  these  is  Matt,  ii,  23  :  “  And  He  came  and  dwelt  in  a  city 
called  Nazareth,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the 
prophets,  ‘  He  shall  be  called  a  Nazarened  ”  The  term  “  city  ”  we 
are  to  disregard,  for  the  theory  goes  behind  the  existing  text  of  the 
Gospels.  The  question  is,  to  what  prophecy  is  reference  here  made  ? 
It  cannot,  says  Dr.  Cheyne,  be  held  with  any  probability  to  refer,  as 
a  current  interpretation  would  have  it  do,  to  the  “  neser  ”  or 
“branch  ”of  Isaiah  xi.  1,  but  is  rather  to  be  taken  as  an  allusion  to 
Isaiah  ix.  1,  “  In  the  former  time  he  brought  into  contempt  the 
land  of  Zebulon  and  the  land  of  Naphtali,  but  in  the  latter  times 
hath  he  made  it  glorious,  by  the  way  of  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan, 
Galilee  of  the  nations.”  But  if  the  allusion  is  to  that  prophecy, 
and  if  that  prophecy,  as  seems  likely,  was  taken  by  the  early 
Christians  to  predict  the  whole  Galilean  ministry  of  Jesus,  then 
“  Nazarene  ”  must  be  taken  to  mean  Galilean,  and  “  Nazareth  ”  to 
mean  Galilee  in  general. 

The  other  passage  upon  which  our  critics  rely  is  John  i.  45,“  Can 
there  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?  ”  There  is,  it  seems, 
some  ground  for  supposing  that  the  n  a-yadov  should  be  6  aytos ,  and 
that  the  true  reading  is,  therefore,  “Can  the  Holy  One  proceed  from 
Nazareth?”  Comparing  this  with  John  vii.  41,  “Doth  the  Christ 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


256 

come  out  of  Galilee  ?  ” — it  is  inferred  once  more  that  Nazareth  is 
synonymous  with  Galilee;  an  inference  which  is  considered  to  be 
supported  by  a  comparison  with  the  following  passages :  Matthew 
xxvi.  69,  “  Thou  also  wast  with  Jesus  the  Galilean  ” ;  Matthew  xxvii. 
71,  “This  man  also  was  with  Jesus  the  Nazarene.” 

If,  now,  we  grant  that  Nazareth  is  equivalent  to  Galilee,  an 
obscure  phrase  which  occurs  in  the  Talmud  is  said  to  be  explained. 
The  phrase  in  question  may  be  read  “  Bethlehem  noserlyyah,” 
Bethlehem  near  Nazareth,  or,  in  the  district  of  Nazareth,  which  our 
author  takes  to  be  identical  with  “  the  Galilean  Bethlehem,”  just  as 
the  southern  Bethlehem  was  called  Bethlehem  of  Judah. 

We  now  (so  he  observes)  begin  to  see  why  Nazareth  was  called 
the  “  fatherland  ”  (* n-arpis )  of  Jesus.  It  was  called  so,  not  because  Jesus 
was  born  or  brought  up  in  a  town  called  Nazareth,  but  because 
He  was  a  native  of  the  district  Nazareth  (i.e. ,  Galilee).  His  real 
birthplace  was  probably  Bethlehem  of  Galilee,  which  would  account 
for  some  of  the  discrepancies  in  the  birth  narratives,  and  for  the 
apparently  discordant  traditions — on  the  one  side  that  He  was  born 
at  Nazareth,  and  on  the  other  that  He  was  born  at  Bethlehem. 

Cheyne’s  argument  depends  largely  upon  the  cumulative  effect  of 
various  slight  indications,  and  upon  that  readers  must  judge  for 
themselves  by  reading  the  full  article  in  th e  Encyclopedia ;  but,  upon 
the  salient  points  which  I  have  set  forth  above  I  would  venture, 
though  with  some  diffidence,  to  make  the  following  suggestions  : 

As  to  the  argumentum  e  silentio ,  it  is  always  a  dangerous  argument, 
and  there  is  really  no  reason  why  Nazareth,  especially  if  it  was  a 
small  place,  should  necessarily  be  mentioned  in  Hebrew  or  Jewish 
literature ;  while  the  Scriptural  and  Talmudic  passages,  though  they 
may  possibly  admit  (in  their  conjectural  primitive  forms)  of  the 
equation  Nazareth  =  Galilee,  admit  equally  well,  one  would  say,  even 
in  their  conjectural  forms,  of  the  supposition  that  Nazareth  was  a 
town  with  a  village  Bethlehem  near  to  it.  Bethlehem,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  is  only  seven  miles  from  the  existing  town  of  Nazareth,  lying 
at  the  foot  of  the  hills  upon  which  Nazareth  stands. 

As  to  the  assertion  that  Nazareth  is  spoken  of  as  the  “father- 
land  ”  of  Jesus,  there  are  but  eight  verses  in  the  New  Testament  in 
which  His  narpis  is  spoken  of,  and  every  one  of  these  eight  refers  to 
the  self-same  event,  while  none  of  them  necessarily  implies  that 
Nazareth  (*.*.,  Galilee)  was  the  narpis  spoken' of.  Matthew’s  state¬ 
ment  (and  the  others  are  similar)  is  this  :  “  And  coming  into  His 
own  country  ( Trarpis )  He  taught  them  in  their  synagogue.”*  But 
such  a  statement,  so  far  from  going  to  prove  that  Galilee  is  the 
“  country  ”  spoken  of,  tells  rather  the  other  way,  otherwise  Galilee 

*  Matt.  xiii.  54. 


APPENDIX  B 


257 

might  be  supposed  to  contain  only  one  synagogue.  The  passage  is 
much  more  consistent  with  the  idea  that  the  “  country  ”  in 
question  means  simply  the  district,  undefined  but  not  extensive, 
round  about  His  native  town.  It  is,  in  fact,  just  such  an  expression 
as  might  be  used  if  Jesus  had  been  born  at  Bethlehem  of  Galilee 
and  had  gone  to  preach  at  Nazareth — to  preach,  that  is  to  say,  not 
in  His  own  town  but  in  a  town  in  His  own  district . 

Against  the  negative  surmise,  there  is,  moreover,  one  positive 
though  not,  perhaps,  conclusive  fact  to  be  set — namely,  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  ancient  rock-cut  tombs  up  the  hill  toward  the  west  of  the 
modern  town.  This  fact  is  passed  over  by  the  writer  of  the  article 
with  a  “  notwithstanding,”  but  it  is,  I  cannot  but  think,  significant. 
These  old  remains  are  a  sure  sign  that  a  town  or  village  of  some 
sort  stood  here  in  very  early  times.  What,  then,  was  the  name  of 
that  town  or  village  ?  We  know  from  innumerable  instances  that 
for  thousands  of  years  the  names  of  places  in  Palestine  will  cling  to 
the  old  sites ;  yet  for  this  site  there  is  no  name  known  but  that  of 
en-Nasira — a  name  which  has  belonged  to  it,  at  any  rate,  from  the 
fourth  century,  for  Eusebius  mentions  it.  And  this,  taken  with  the 
fact  that  at  an  earlier  date  still,  when  the  Gospels  of  Matthew 
and  Luke  took  their  present  form,  there  was  believed  to  have 
existed  in  Galilee  a  noXis  \eyoixevr)  Na^apeV,  surely  forms  rather 
strong  presumptive  evidence  that  this  is  no  other  than  the  Nazareth 
which  is  eleven  times  mentioned  in  the  Gospels  and  four  times 
called  a  “city.” 


B.  THE  BETHLEHEM  QUESTION 

(See  p.  46.) 

In  the  following  note  an  attempt  is  made  to  balance  the  probabilities 
as  to  the  true  birthplace  of  Jesus;  whether  Bethlehem  of  Judah, 
Bethlehem  of  Zebulon,  or  Nazareth  is  to  be  so  regarded.  It  may 
help  to  a  clear  understanding  if  the  line  of  argument  is  previously 
indicated.  This  may  be  done  as  follows  : 

I.  The  details  of  Luke’s  birth-story  may  probably  be  disregarded, 
but  we  have  nevertheless  to  reckon  with  a  tradition,  which  evidently 
did  exist  before  his  time,  that  Jesus  was  born  at  Bethlehem  of  Judaea. 

II.  How  did  this  tradition  arise  ?  Was  the  Rabbinic  teaching 
that  Christ  should  come  from  Bethlehem-Judah  so  prominent  as  to 
make  it  likely  that  an  overwhelming  popular  demand  for  its  fulfil¬ 
ment  led  to  the  creation  of  the  story  ?  No ;  but  the  Rabbinic  teach- 

R 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


258 

ing  on  the  point  was  sufficiently  definite  to  incline  the  scale  towards 
Bethlehem,  if  in  any  way  apart  from  sheer  invention,  a  Bethlehem 
story  could  have  arisen  alongside  the  Nazareth  story. 

III.  There  is  some  evidence  that  a  double  tradition  Bethlehem- 
Nazareth  did  actually  exist,  and  an  explanation  of  the  way  in 
which  it  may  have  sprung  up  is  suggested.  Although  Jesus  was 
called  “Jesus  of  Nazareth  ”  He  may  have  been  born  at  Bethlehem  of 
Zebulon,  which  was  known  as  Bethlehern-Nazareth.* 

Lastly,  a  consideration  is  added,  which  may,  perhaps,  notwith¬ 
standing  this  possibility,  incline  the  scale  to  the  view  that  Jesus 
was  actually  born  in  Nazareth,  and  that  the  Bethlehem  which  was 
reputed  to  be  His  birthplace  was,  in  fact,  the  Bethlehem  near 
Jerusalem. 

I.  The  Gospel  of  Mark,  which,  taking  the  Gospels  in  their  present 
form,  is  probably  the  earliest  of  the  four,  tells  us  nothing  whatever 
about  the  birth  of  Jesus.  He  first  appears  upon  the  scene  at  the 
Baptism  of  John,  and  what  we  read  is  simply  that  He  “  came  from 
Nazareth  of  Galilee.”  As  to  Bethlehem,  it  is  never  so  much  as 
mentioned  in  Mark’s  Gospel.  How,  then,  did  Luke,  who  stands 
next  in  order  of  time,  come  to  believe  that  Bethlehem  was  the 
birthplace?  He  did  not  derive  the  idea  from  Matthew,  for  the 
narrative  parts  of  Matthew’s  Gospel  are  later  than" Luke,  and  there 
is  nothing  in  Matthew’s  Logia  to  lead  to  such  a  belief.  We  can 
only  infer  that  already,  in  a.d.  85  or  thereabouts,  there  were  some 
sources  of  which  we  do  not  know — some  of  those  “  many  narra¬ 
tives  ”  to  which  Luke  himself  alludes — which  stated  that  Jesus  was 
born  at  Bethlehem. 

Now,  Luke  essays  to  tell  us  how  it  came  about  that  Jesus  was 
born  there.  He  has  a  story  of  Quirinius,  governor  of  Syria,  enrol¬ 
ling  the  people  by  decree  of  Augustus  Caesar,  and  explains  that 
because  this  was  done  by  tribes  and  families  Joseph  and  Mary  went 
to  Bethlehem,  the  city  of  David,  Joseph  being  of  that  house  and 
family,  and  so  it  chanced  that  Mary  was  delivered  of  the  Child 
while  they  were  in  that  town.  Did  this  story,  then,  form  part  of 
the  original  record  or  records  which  Luke  consulted,  or  was  it 
merely  an  historical  setting  which  he  himself  supplied  ? 

To  this  question  it  is  answered  on  one  side  that  there  is  every 
appearance  of  the  story  being  a  belated  and  unfortunate  attempt  of 
Luke’s  to  harmonise  the  fact  that  Jesus  was  always  known  as  “  the 
Nazarene,”  with  the  tradition,  which  the  Evangelist  found  else¬ 
where,  that  He  was  born  at  Bethlehem.  The  erroneousness  of  the 

*  The  theory  that  Jesus  was  born  at  the  northern  Bethlehem  I  first  met  with  in  the 
pages  of  Prof.  Edward  Stapfer,  of  Paris  (“  Le  Palestine  au  Temps  de  Jdsus-Christ,” 
6me  dd.  p.  44  fn.)  Neubauer  is  said  to  have  previously  hinted  at  it,  and  it  was  adopted 
by  Gratz. 


APPENDIX  B 


259 

history,  as  given  by  St.  Luke,  is  said  to  be  shown  by  the  following 
considerations  : 

1.  It  was  legally  impossible  that  any  enrolment  of  the  whole 
empire  should  be  taken  in  Judaea  and  Galilee  in  the  reign  of 
Herod. 

2.  Quirinius  (or  Cyrenius)  was  never  governor  of  Syria  before 
Herod’s  death. 

3.  Even  if  the  census  in  Judaea,  taken  under  Quirinius  in  6-7 
a.d.,  is  the  one  Luke  has  in  mind,  and  even  if  it  be  granted  that  this 
may  have  been  part  of  a  census  of  all  imperial  provinces,  yet  could 
it  not  in  any  case  have  applied  to  Galileans. 

4.  It  neither  would  nor  could  have  been  taken  at  the  ancestral 
home  of  the  subject,  but  at  the  actually  existing  home. 

5.  Mary  would  not  have  had  to  go,  even  if  Joseph  went. 

To  these  objections  answers  more  or  less  hypothetical  are  given 
as  follows  :  It  is  true  that  Herod  was  an  ally  and  not  a  subject, 
and  that  legally  speaking  an  imperial  decree,  that  an  enrolment 
should  be  made,  would  not  apply  in  the  reign  of  Herod  to  Judaea 
and  Galilee ;  yet  it  may  have  been  politic  for  him  to  comply  with  a 
request  for  such  a  census,  and  we  know,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that 
it  was  particularly  to  his  interest  at  the  time  in  question  to  con¬ 
ciliate  the  imperial  power.  It  is  true,  again,  that  the  well-known 
enrolment  under  Quirinius  did  not  take  place  until  6-7  a.d.,  and 
that  Josephus  speaks  of  this  as  being  a  new  and  unheard-of  thing 
among  the  Jews \  nevertheless,  Luke  says  so  emphatically,  “This 
was  the  first  enrolment  made  when  Quirinius  was  governor  of 
Syria,”  that  he  probably  does  refer  to  some  previous  enrolment  of 
which  we  do  not  know.  Once  more,  it  is  true  that  Quirinius  was, 
strictly  speaking,  only  once  governor  of  Syria,  but  there  are  reasons 
for  thinking  that  he  commanded  the  armies  and  directed  the  foreign 
policy  of  Syria  in  b.c.  6,  when  Varus  was  governor  of  the  internal 
affairs,  and  this  may  be  the  jJye/xoVm  of  which  Luke  speaks,  using  it 
merely  as  a  point  to  date  from,  not  as  implying  that  the  census  was 
carried  out  by  Quirinius.  So  that  if  Jesus  was  born  not,  as  is 
popularly  supposed,  in  b.c.  4,  but  in  b.c.  6,  this  would  justify  the 
historical  statement  with  which  Luke’s  Gospel  opens.* 

As  to  the  objection  that  even  if  the  census  made  in  Judsea  in 
a.d.  6-7  is  meant,  it  could  not  have  applied  to  Galileans,  and  the 
further  objection  that  if  it  had  applied  to  Galileans  it  would  have 
been  taken  at  the  existing,  not  at  the  ancestral  homes,  both  these 
difficulties  are  met  by  the  supposition  that  Herod,  in  endeavouring 
to  satisfy  the  imperial  decree  without  offending  the  Jews,  may  have 
carried  out  the  enrolment  by  tribes,  thus  obscuring  the  civil  and 

*  “Was  Christ  born  in  Bethlehem?”  By  W.  M.  Ramsay.  Second  edition,  p.  244. 


26o 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


imperial  meaning  under  a  national  and  religious  veil;  while  the 
argument  that  Mary  would  not  have  had  to  go  to  Bethlehem  even 
if  Joseph  went,  is  met  by  the  answer  that  Mary,  notwithstanding 
her  condition  at  the  time,  may  have  preferred  to  go  rather  than 
stay  at  home  without  Joseph’s  protection. 

So  far,  the  answers  are  of  a  very  conjectural  character,  and 
although  a  conjecture  here  or  there  might  be  permitted,  a  whole 
series  of  conjectures  makes  but  a  weak  chain  on  which  to  hang  an 
historical  statement.  So  that  the  presumption,  it  must  be  con¬ 
fessed,  is  rather  strong  that  Luke  had  in  mind,  but  miscalculated 
the  date  of,  the  great  enrolment  under  Quirinius  in  a.d.  6-7,  of 
which  we  know  from  another  passage  (Acts  v.  37)  that  he  was 
aware.  And  when  he  speaks  of  it  as  the  “  first  enrolment,”  he 
says,  in  fact,  nothing  else  than  Josephus  himself  has  said  (“Ant.” 
xviii.  i.  1)  when  writing  about  this  same  well-known  census.  The 
presumption,  moreover,  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  in  other 
parts  of  his  writings  Luke  has  fallen  into  chronological  errors.* 

There  is,  however,  another  line  of  argument  which  must  be 
taken  into  account  before  we  leave  this  part  of  our  subject.  It  is 
surmised  that  the  enrolment  of  which  Luke  speaks  was  not  an 
imperial  census  at  all,  but  a  local  enrolment  and  numbering  of  the 
population,  one  of  many  held  in  various  parts  of  the  empire.  It  is 
true  that  Luke  speaks  of  it  as  “  a  decree  from  Caesar  Augustus  that 
all  the  world  should  be  enrolled  ” ;  but  it  is  noticeable  that  he  uses 
the  present  tense  (anoypdtyEGdai),  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
what  Augustus  ordered  wras  a  systematic  series  of  enrolments ;  if 
he  had  intended  a  single  enrolment  he  would  have  used  the  aorist. 
Now,  comparatively  recent  discoveries  have  shown  that  periodical 
enrolments  by  households  were  actually  made  in  Egypt  under  the 
Roman  empire,  the  period  being  one  of  fourteen  years ;  and  if  it 
can  be  shown  that  such  enrolments  were  also  extended  to  other 
parts  of  the  empire,  and  that  one  of  the  dates  for  enrolment  fell  at 
the  time  of  Jesus’  birth,  Luke’s  statement  is  justified. 

But  there  are  indications  that  such  enrolments  were  made  in  other 
parts  of  the  empire,  and  there  is  positive  evidence  that  in  Syria,  in 
particular,  the  first,  the  second,  and  the  fourth  of  a  series  of  enrol¬ 
ments  beginning  in  b.c.  8,  and  repeated  every  fourteenth  year  were 
observed.j-  So  that  the  case  for  St.  Luke  (so  it  is  argued),  if  it  is 
not  completely  made  out,  is  at  any  rate  shown  to  have  great 
probability. 

With  reference  to  this  argument  it  must  be  remarked,  that  even  if 
the  rather  obscure  evidence  be  held  to  support  the  propositions  which 
the  proof  requires,  the  year  of  the  supposed  Syrian  enrolment  is 

*  “  Encycl.  Bibl.”  “  Chronology,”  col.  8o8,  fn.  2.  f  Ramsay,  op .  cit.  p.  167. 


APPENDIX  B 


261 


neither  that  which  is  popularly  accepted  as  the  year  of  Jesus’  birth 
nor  that  which  Dr.  Ramsay,  the  ardent  exponent  of  the  theory, 
favours.  If  Jesus  was  born  in  b.c.  4,  Luke,  who  on  the  former 
hypothesis  was  ten  years  too  late,  is  by  the  present  hypothesis  four 
years  too  early.  If,  as  Dr.  Ramsay  holds,  Jesus  was  born  in  b.c.  6, 
there  is,  even  then,  an  error  of  two  years;  a  difficulty  which  the 
learned  apologist  evades  by  supposing  that  Herod’s  kingdom  was  in 
such  a  condition  at  the  time  when  the  enrolment  was  due  that  it  had 
to  be  put  off  till  two  years  later. 

On  the  whole,  while  this  new  line  of  argument  may  possibly  reduce 
the  magnitude  of  Luke’s  error,  there  is  still,  as  it  seems  to  the  present 
writer,  too  much  adjustment  and  too  little  coincidence  to  outweigh 
the  probability  that  the  Evangelist  was  merely  supplying  an  historical 
setting  to  the  Bethlehem  tradition  which  he  had  found  in  some  of 
the  “  narratives”  which  he  had  consulted. 

II.  But  now,  how  did  that  Bethlehem  tradition  arise  ?  The  first 
and  most  obvious  suggestion  is,  that  although  Jesus  was  really  born 
in  Nazareth,  the  expectation  that  the  Messiah  would  be  born  in 
Bethlehem  was  so  general  and  so  strongly  rooted  that  the  facts  of 
His  birth  were  perverted  in  order  to  meet  the  expectation.  Matthew 
is  believed  to  be  voicing  the  popular  belief  when  he  represents  the 
chief  priests  and  scribes  as  quoting  the  prophet  Micah  to  prove  that 
Christ  must  be  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judah. 

What  weight  shall  we  give  to  that  view  ?  Was  the  tradition  of  the 
synagogue  so  strong  that  even  deliberate  perversion  of  the  facts  in 
order  to  meet  the  popular  demand  is  credible  ?  Would  the  early 
Christians  themselves  find  it  hard  to  believe  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ 
unless  they  also  believed  that  He  was  born  in  Bethlehem  ? 

Now,  even  the  reader  ignorant  of  Rabbinic  Hebrew  may  to  some 
extent  test  this  question  for  himself.  Dr.  Edersheim  has  given,  in  an 
Appendix  to  his  “  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,”  a  list  of 
Old  Testament  passages  Messianically  applied  in  ancient  Rabbinic 
writings;  and  in  the  American  journal  “Hebraica”*  there  is  a 
similar  list  by  Dr.  Pick,  in  which  a  full  translation  of  the  Rabbinic 
texts  is  printed. 

Of  these  Rabbinic  passages,  which  number  more  than  five  hun¬ 
dred,  only  four  have  any  bearing  on  the  present  inquiry.*)-  One  of 
the  four,  commenting  on  Isaiah  xli.  25,  speaks  of  “  Messiah  who  is 
in  the  North  coming  to  build  the  Sanctuary  which  is  in  the 
South,”  but  has  no  distinct  reference  to  Messiah’s  birthplace.  The 
other  three  distinctly  say  that  Messiah  is  to  be  born  in  Bethlehem- 

*  Vols.  ii.-iv.,  1885-1887. 

f  Jerus.  Berachoth.  fol.  5,  col.  1.  (on  Ps.  xviii.  50)  ;  Midrash  on  Lam.  i.  16  ;  Targum 
on  Micah  v.  2  ;  and  Midrash  on  Nura.  vii.  12,  where  Isa.  xli.  25  is  Messianically  applied. 


262 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Judah  or  Bethlehem-Ephratah,  but  two  of  the  three  are  identical,  the 
one  being  merely  a  quotation  of  the  other.  There  are  thus  practi¬ 
cally  only  two  traditional  passages  for  us  to  consider,  and  it  may 
perhaps  interest  the  reader  if  they  are  given  here  in  full. 

The  first  is  the  Targum  on  Micah  v.  2  :  “  But  thou,  Bethlehem- 
Ephratah,  thou  hast  been  little  to  be  counted  among  the  thousands 
of  the  house  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  come  forth  before  me 
Messiah,  to  exercise  dominion  over  Israel,  whose  name  is  spoken  of 
from  of  old,  from  the  days  of  eternity.”  This  is  of  course  the 
ancient  traditional  comment  upon  which  the  Evangelist  Matthew 
relied. 

The  other  is  a  very  curious  story,  and  raises  questions.  As  given 
in  the  Jerusalem  Berachoth,  it  runs  as  follows  :  “A  certain  Jew  was 
engaged  in  ploughing.  His  ox  bellowed.  An  Arab  passing,  and 
hearing  the  ox  bellow,  said,  ‘Son  of  a  Jew,  son  of  a  Jew,  loose  thy 
oxen,  and  loose  thy  ploughs,  for  the  temple  is  laid  waste.’  The  ox 
bellowed  a  second  time.  The  Arab  said  to  him,  ‘  Yoke  thine  oxen, 
and  fit  thy  ploughs,  for  King  Messiah  has  just  been  born.’  The  Jew 
said,  ‘  What  is  his  name  ?  ’  ‘  Menachem  ’  (/.<?.,  comforter).  He  asked 
further,  ‘  What  is  the  name  of  his  father  ?  ’  ‘  Hezekiah,’  replied  the 

other.  ‘  Whence  is  he  ?  ’  asked  the  Jew.  ‘  From  the  royal  palace  of 
Bethlehem-Judah,’  replied  the  Arab.  At  this  the  Jew  sold  his  oxen 
and  his  ploughs,  and  became  a  seller  of  infants’  swaddling-clothes. 
And  he  went  about  from  town  to  town  till  he  reached  Bethlehem. 
All  women  bought  of  him,  but  the  mother  of  Menachem  bought 
nothing.  When  the  other  women  said  to  her,  ‘  Mother  of  Menachem, 
mother  of  Menachem !  come  and  buy  something  for  thy  son,’  she 
replied,  ‘  I  would  rather  strangle  the  enemy  of  Israel,  for  on  that 
same  day  on  which  my  son  was  born  the  temple  was  destroyed.’  They 
replied,  ‘  We  hope  that  as  the  temple  was  destroyed  for  his  sake,  it 
will  also  be  rebuilt  for  his  sake.’  The  mother  said,  ‘  I  have  no 
money.’  The  Jew  replied,  ‘What  matters  it?  Buy  bargains  for 
him,  and  if  you  have  no  money  to-day,  after  some  days  I  will  come 
back  and  receive  it.’  When  he  came  back  and  inquired  of  the  mother 
after  the  welfare  of  the  child,  she  replied,  ‘After  the  time  you  saw  me 
last,  winds  and  tempests  came  and  snatched  him  away  from  me.’  ” 

One  would  like  to  know  the  date  of  this  story  with  its  allusions 
to  the  mother  in  Bethlehem  buying  swaddling-clothes,  and  the  de¬ 
struction  and  rebuilding  of  the  temple ;  for  it  has  to  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  Jerusalem  Talmud  was  not  completed  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  fourth  century  a.d. 

In  any  case  it  is  plain  from  the  foregoing  that  there  was  (at  any 
rate  in  the  Targum  quoted)  a  distinct  Rabbinic  teaching  that  the 
Messiah  would  be  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judaea;  but  at  the  same 


APPENDIX  B 


263 


time  it  is  equally  plain  that  there  was  no  great  body  of  teaching  to 
that  effect.  We  do  not  find  in  these  five  hundred  Rabbinic  texts 
that  the  reference  to  Messiah’s  birthplace  is  repeated  again  and  again, 
as  we  find,  for  instance,  that  the  prediction  that  He  will  come  riding 
upon  an  ass  is  repeated.  It  is  clear  that  the  latter  belief  was  popular 
and  widespread  ;  it  is  not  clear  that  the  former  was  so. 

No  doubt  the  fact  is  to  be  taken  into  account  that  in  these  Tal¬ 
mudic  passages  the  title  Son  of  David  is  continually  repeated,  and 
was  generally  and  popularly  accepted ;  and  perhaps  this  may  have 
carried  with  it  a  popular  inference  that  He  would  come  from  David’s 
city.  But  there  is  no  direct  evidence  to  that  effect.  And  on  the 
whole  the  probability  seems  to  be  that,  while  there  was  no  such 
general  and  popular  expectation  that  the  Messiah  would  be  born  in 
Bethlehem,  as  would  form  an  overwhelming  demand  for  the  precise 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecy,  there  was  nevertheless  such  definite  Rab¬ 
binic  teaching  on  the  point  as  would  lead  the  first  Christians  to 
welcome  any  apparent  evidence  that  such  an  expectation  had  been 
fulfilled. 

III.  It  remains  to  show  that  such  apparent  evidence  did  possibly 
exist  in  early  Christian  times,  in  the  form  of  a  double  tradition,  one 
pointing  to  Nazareth  and  the  other  to  Bethlehem ;  and  that  there  is 
a  very  probable  explanation  of  the  way  in  which  it  sprung  up. 

If  we  take  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  and  read  it  by  itself,  banishing 
from  our  minds  Luke’s  theory  about  the  birthplace,  we  shall  find 
that  the  assumption  is  that  the  parents  of  Jesus  had  their  home  in 
Bethlehem  of  Judsea,  and  that  Jesus  was  born  there  in  consequence 
of  that  being  their  usual  domicile.  There  is  no  preliminary  ex¬ 
planation  to  the  opening  statement  “When  Jesus  was  born  in 
Bethlehem  of  Judaea  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  King,”  such  as  Luke 
in  his  Gospel  supplies.  Joseph  and  Mary  did  not  need  to  be 
brought  to  Bethlehem ;  the  story  starts  there.  The  flight  into  Egypt 
follows,  and  when  the  time  comes  for  the  Holy  Family  to  return, 
their  first  thought  is  to  go  back  to  Judaea  from  which  they  started. 
Why  so,  if  their  home  was  in  Nazareth,  and  if  the  visit  to  Bethlehem 
had  been  a  brief  and  casual  occurrence  brought  about  by  a  political 
duty  ?  In  that  case  their  natural  intention  would  be  to  go  home  to 
Nazareth.  But  this  does  not  enter  Matthew’s  mind.  He  represents 
them  as  intending  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things  to  go  back  to 
their  Judaean  home,  and  he  has  to  use  a  device  to  get  them  to 
Nazareth,  where  the  Nazareth-tradition  demands  that  Jesus  should 
fie — the  story,  namely,  of  the  dream  warning  Joseph  to  “  withdraw 
into  the  parts  of  Galilee”  ;  and  so  it  happened  that  “  he  came  and 
dwelt  in  a  city  called  Nazareth.” 

Note  the  phraseology.  He  did  not  go  home,  he  “withdrew” 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


264 

He  did  not  return  to  the  familiar  haunts,  he  proceeded  to  these 
outlying  “  parts  of  Galilee”  He  did  not  arrive  at  the  well-known 
town,  he  “  came  and  dwelt  in  a  city  called  Nazareth .” 

If  we  now  take  the  Gospel  of  Luke  and  read  the  first  two  chapters 
without  allowing  our  minds  to  be  influenced  by  Matthew’s  Gospel, 
we  shall  find  that  all  this  is  reversed.  The  story  of  Jesus  opens 
with  the  visit  of  the  angel  Gabriel  to  Mary,  the  betrothed  of  Joseph, 
in  their  home  at  Nazareth ;  and  Luke’s  device,  contrary  to  that  of 
Matthew,  is  used  to  get  Jesus  to  Bethlehem,  where  He  has  to  be 
born  to  satisfy  the  Bethlehem-tradition.  This  he  does  by  means  of 
the  enrolment-story  of  which  we  have  spoken  above  ;  when  “  Joseph 
went  up  to  Galilee,  out  of  the  city  of  Nazareth,  into  Judaea,  to  the 
city  of  David.” 

Thus  we  see  that  Matthew  starts  with  the  Bethlehem-tradition 
and  endeavours  to  account  for  the  Nazareth-tradition,  while  Luke 
starts  with  the  Nazareth-tradition  and  endeavours  to  account  for  the 
Bethlehem-tradition. 

Suppose  now,  that  the  Talmudic  phrase  referred  to  on  page  46, 
ante ,  <£  Bethlehem  noserlyyah,”  indicates  the  name  by  which  the 
northern  Bethlehem  was  known,  and  suppose  that  in  the  earliest 
form  of  the  Evangelical-tradition  this  Bethlehem-Nazareth  is  the 
place  where  Jesus  was  said  to  have  been  born,  we  can  easily  see  how 
the  twofold  tradition  would  arise.  Bethlehem-Nazareth  was  a 
little-known  place,  and  some  of  those  who  handed  on  the  tradition 
would  say  that  Jesus  was  born  at  Bethlehem,  while  others 
would  say  that  He  was  born  at  Nazareth.  Bethlehem  without  the 
suffix  would  naturally  be  supposed  to  mean  the  well-known  Bethle¬ 
hem  near  Jerusalem.  Thus,  even  if  the  Rabbinic  doctrine  that 
Jesus  was  to  be  born  at  Bethlehem- Judah  was  not  popular  or  wide¬ 
spread,  the  tradition  might  nevertheless  gain  footing,  and  those  who 
knew  of  the  doctrine  would  appeal  to  it  both  as  confirming  their 
tradition  about  the  birthplace  and  as  fulfilling  Scripture.* 

This  theory  appears  to  me  to  gain  some  confirmation  from  the 
fact  that  another  such  transference  from  the  northern  to  the  southern 
Bethlehem  has  almost  certainly  taken  place  in  the  case  of  the  Judge 
Ibzan.  “  Ibzan  of  Bethlehem,”  says  the  Book  of  Judges  (xii.  8), 
“judged  Israel,”  or,  as  suggested  in  the  margin  of  the  Authorised 
Version,  “North-east  Israel,”  and  the  same  Ibzan  “was  buried  in 
Bethlehem.”  Josephus  and  Jewish  tradition  assign  this  Ibzan  tc 
Bethlehem-Judah,  but  most  scholars  take  the  Bethlehem  spoken  of 
to  be  Bethlehem  of  Zebulon.f 

And  now,  finally,  there  is  one  consideration  which  may,  perhaps, 

*  Cf.  “Encycl.  Bibl.”  art.  “  Nazareth.’’ 
t  “  Encycl.  Bibl.”  art.  “  Bethlehem,”  No.  2. 


APPENDIX  C 


265 

be  taken  to  nullify  the  previous  argument  so  far  as  the  birth  at  the 
northern  Bethlehem  is  concerned.  Besides  the  most  ancient  Rab¬ 
binic  writings  referred  to  above,  it  has  to  be  remembered  that  there 
are  also  passages  of  a  later  date,  in  which  it  is  said  that  the  Messiah 
was  to  be  born  in  Bethlehem,  or  in  Beth-Arabah,  near  Bethlehem. 

Now,  although  these  passages  are  all  much  later  than  the  Christian 
era,  they  may  nevertheless  point  to  a  pre-Christian  condition,  for, 
written  though  they  were  with  full  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the 
Jews  of  the  story  of  Jesus’  birth  in  Bethlehem,  they  would  not  be 
derived  from  that  knowledge  :  the  Jewish  bias  would  be  in  the 
opposite  direction.  Jewish  teachers  would  hardly  have  said  that 
Messiah  was  to  be  born  there,  unless  they  had  an  older,  independent 
tradition  to  that  effect.* 

This  consideration  may  be  taken  to  strengthen  the  probability  of 
a  popular' pre-Christian  belief  in  Bethlehem-Ephratah  as  the  birth¬ 
place  of  Messiah ;  and  the  truth  of  the  matter  may,  therefore,  after 
all,  be  that  Jesus  was  born  in  Nazareth,  and  that  it  was  this  popular 
belief  which  led  to  His  birth  being  nevertheless  assigned  to  the  city 
of  David. 


C.  THE  BETHSAI D A  QUESTION 

(See  chap,  xiii.) 

The  Bethsaida  question  involves  three  separate  inquiries.  First, 
Was  there  one  Bethsaida,  or  were  there  two  ?  Second,  If  there  was 
only  one  principal  place  of  that  name,  had  it,  nevertheless,  a  suburb 
or  dependent  village  of  the  same  name  attached  to  it  ?  Third, 
Where  was  the  Bethsaida,  or  where  were  the  Bethsaidas,  of  the 
Gospels  situated  ? 

There  are  two  considerations  which  point  to  the  existence  of  a 
second  Bethsaida.  The  first  consideration  is  that  while  Luke  says 
(or,  rather,  implies)  that  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand  took  place 
in  a  desert  place  at  or  near  Bethsaida,  Mark  says  that  after  the 
feeding  Jesus  constrained  His  disciples  to  go  unto  the  other  side  of 
the  Sea  of  Galilee  to  Bethsaida  ;  so  that  if  both  accounts  are  accepted, 
there  must  have  been  two  Bethsaidas  situated  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  lake.  The  second  consideration  is  that,  according  to  the  Gospel 
of  Mark,  the  disciples  are  sent  on  before  Jesus  to  Bethsaida ,  and 
yet  they  land  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret ;  so  that  it  looks  as  if  there 

*  I  am  indebted  for  this  suggestion  to  Mr.  I.  Abrahams,  of  Christ’s  College, 
Cambridge. 


66 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


were  a  Bethsaida  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret  on  the  western  shore, 
as  well  as  the  “  Bethsaida  Julias  ”  mentioned  in  Josephus,  which  is 
known  to  have  been  situated  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake. 

Now,  in  examining  a  question  of  geographical  fact  like  this,  the 
first  thing  naturally  is  to  ask  what  the  character  of  the  documents  may 
be  upon  which  we  are  called  to  base  a  judgment.  And  we  must 
confess  that  the  incidents  which  occur  at  this  part  of  Mark’s 
Gospel  are  particularly  legendary  in  appearance.  Are  we,  in  fact, 
dealing  here  with  history  at  all  ?  Can  such  incidents  as  the  feeding 
of  the  five  thousand  and  the  walking  on  the  water  be  supposed  to 
have  so  much  as  a  germ  of  historical  truth  ?  Even  Edersheim  has 
noticed  their  exceptional  character.  He  traces  a  curious  cor¬ 
respondence  between  some  of  these  incidents  and  the  events  of  the 
Passion.*  In  any  case,  and  even  supposing  that  the  stories,  though 
ultimately  used  as  parables,  contain  a  nucleus  of  historical  truth, 
they  remain  of  such  a  character  as  to  afford  a  very  slender  basis  for 
any  such  geographical  inference  as  that  which  we  are  considering. 

Our  suspicion  of  the  unhistorical  character  of  the  data  upon 
which  that  inference  is  based  receives  confirmation  when  we  find 
that  a  comparison  of  the  Gospels  of  Mark  and  Luke  reveals  strong 
reasons  for  believing  that  an  interpolation  has  taken  place  in  the 
former  Gospel,  and  that  this  interpolation  is  of  such  a  kind  as  to 
destroy  altogether  the  order  of  events  upon  which  the  evidence  for 
the  second  Bethsaida  depends. 

The  following  are  the  textual  facts  upon  which  the  inference  of 
an  interpolation  is  based.  If  we  compare  the  histories  as  given  by 
the  Synoptics,  we  shall  find  that  up  to  and  including  the  feeding  of 
the  five  thousand,  the  Gospel  of  Luke  gives,  with  more  or  less 
fulness,  almost  everything  given  in  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  the  only 
exception  being  the  short  parable  of  the  “  seed  cast  upon  the  earth.”  •j* 
We  find,  moreover,  that  the  incidents  of  the  narrative  follow  very 
nearly  the  same  order.  But  at  that  point  a  great  break  in  this 
correspondence  occurs,  and  the  thread  of  Mark’s  narrative  is  not  again 
taken  up  by  Luke  until  Jesus  departs  with  His  disciples  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Caesarea  Philippi,  where  Peter’s  confession, 
“Thou  art  the  Christ,”  took  place.J  From  that  point  the  corre¬ 
spondence  continues  to  Luke  ix.  40.  This  suggests  that  for  the 
earlier  portion  of  his  Gospel  Luke  used  a  document,  or  an  extended 
oral  tradition,  which  corresponded  very  largely  with  Mark  i.-ix.  40 
as  we  have  it,  except  that  chapters  vi.  45  to  viii.  26  of  our  present 
Mark  were  wanting. 

Upon  closer  scrutiny,  however,  we  find  that  vi.  45-52  and 


*  “  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,”  9th  ed.,  vol.  ii.  p.  4. 

+  Mark  iv.  26-29.  +  Mark  viii.  27 ;  Luke  ix.  18. 


APPENDIX  C 


viii.  22-26  were  also  probably  in  Luke’s  document  or  tradition. 
The  traces  of  these  two  sections  are  found  in  certain  curious  phrases 
used  by  Luke,  which  can  best  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that 
the  narrative  which  Luke  consulted  contained  them  both,  that  they 
were  in  close  juxtaposition,  and  were  immediately  followed  by  the 
account  of  the  confession  of  Peter.* 

If  these  two  sections,  containing  the  story  of  the  walking  on  the 
water  and  the  healing  of  the  blind  man  of  Bethsaida,  were  in  the 
written  document  or  oral  tradition  which  Luke  used,  we  can  under¬ 
stand  why  he  may  nevertheless  have  omitted  them.  The  former  he 
may  have  taken  to  be  a  variant  of  the  story  of  Christ’s  ruling  the 
winds  and  waves,  which  he  had  already  given,  and  the  latter  he  may 
have  objected  to  or  doubted  on  account  of  the  means  said  to  have 
been  used.  But  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  other  omitted 
sections.  In  particular  it  is  very  strange  that,  writing  as  he  did 
for  the  Gentiles,  he  should  not  have  given  the  story  of  the  Syro- 
phenician  woman,  if  he  had  it  before  him  when  he  compiled  his 
Gospel.  Our  theory,  therefore,  is  that  in  the  early  narrative  which 
Luke  used  for  this  portion  of  his  Gospel,  chapters  vi.  53,  viii.  21 
were  wanting, 

The  theory  will,  perhaps,  become  clearer  if  we  place  the  con¬ 
tinuous  narrative  of  Luke  side  by  side  with  the  supposed  original 
Mark,  and  attend  carefully  to  the  correspondences  which  are 
printed  in  heavy  type  : 


MARK.f 

vi. 

30  And  the  apostles  gather  them¬ 
selves  together  unto  Jesus  ,  and 
they  told  him  all  things  whatso¬ 
ever  they  had  done,  and  wbatso- 

31  ever  they  had  taught.  And  lie 
saith  unto  them.  Come 
ye  yourselves  apart,  into  a 
desert  place,  and  rest  a  while. 
For  there  were  many  coming  and 
going,  and  they  had  no  leisure 

32  so  much  as  to  eat.  And  they 
went  away  in  the  boat  to  a  desert 

33  place  apart,  and  the  people  saw 
them  going,  and  many  knew 


Luke,  f 

ix. 

And  the  apostles,  when  they  10 
were  returned,  declared  unto  him 
what  things  they  had  done. 
And  he  took  them,  and 
withdrew  apart  to  a  city 
called  Bethsaida.  But  the  11 
multitudes  perceiving  it  followed 
him  :  and  he  welcomed  them, 
and  spake  to  them  of  the  king¬ 
dom  of  God,  and  them  that 
had  need  of  healing  he 
healed. 


*  “  Withdrew  apart  to  a  city  called  Bethsaida ”  (Luke  ix.  10).  Compare  “Come 
ye  yourselves  apart  ”  (Mark  vi.  31),  and  “  He  constrained  His  disciples  to  go  before 
Him  unto  the  other  side  to  Bethsaida  ”  (Mark  vi.  45).  “As  He  was  praying  alone,  the 
disciples  were  with  Him  ’’  (Luke  ix.  18).  Compare  “  He  departed  into  the  mountain 
to  pray  ...  He  alone  on  the  land  ”  (Mark  vi.  47),  and  “  He  asked  His  disciples  saying 
unto  them  ”  (Mark  viii.  27).  The  suggestion  is  that  in  omitting  the  story  of  the 
walking  on  the  water,  Luke  has  joined  up  the  two  ends  with  this  rather  awkward 
seam.  “  And  they  come  unto  Bethsaida.  And  they  bring  unto  Him  a  blind  man  ” 
(Mark  viii.  22).  Compare  Luke  ix.  10,  11,  “He  took  them  ...  to  a  city  called 
Bethsaida  .  .  .  and  them  that  had  need  of  healing  He  healed.” 
t  Text  of  the  Revised  Version,  used  by  permission  of  the  University  Presses. 


268 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


them>  and  they  ran  there  to- 
*iandby  ?et^er*  on  foot,  from  all  the 
cities  and  outwent  them.  And 

34  he  came  forth  and  saw  a  great 
multitude,  and  he  had  compas¬ 
sion  on  them,  because  they  were 
as  sheep  not  having  a  shepherd  : 
and  he  began  to  teach  them 

35  many  things.  And  when  the 
day  was  now  far  spent,  his  dis¬ 
ciples  came  unto  him,  and  said, 

36  The  place  is  desert,  and  the  day 
is  now  far  spent :  send  them 
away  that  they  may  go  into  the 
country  and  villages  round  about, 
and  buy  themselves  somewhat 

37  to  eat.  But  he  answered  and 
said  unto  them,  Give  ye  them  to 
eat.  And  they  say  unto  him, 
Shall  we  go  and  buy  two  hun- 

*  See  mar-  dred  *  pennyworth  of  bread,  and 
on^Mattf  give  them  to  eat?  And  he  saith 
xviii.  33.  unto  them,  How  many  loaves 

38  have  ye?  go  and  see.  And  when 
they  knew,  they  say,  Five,  and 

39  two  fishes.  And  he  commanded 
*Gr.m:tf«d?.them  that  all  should  sit*  down  by 

companies  upon  the  green  grass. 

40  And  they  sat  down  in  ranks,  by 

41  hundreds,  and  by  fifties.  And 
he  took  the  five  loaves  and  the 
two  fishes,  and  looking  up  to 
heaven,  he  blessed,  and  brake 
the  loaves ;  and  he  gave  to  the 
disciples  to  set  before  them  ;  and 
the  two  fishes  divided  he  among 

42  them  all.  And  they  did  all  eat 

43  and  were  filled.  And  they  took 
up  broken  pieces,  twelve  bas¬ 
ketfuls,  and  also  of  the  fishes. 

44  And  they  that  ate  the  loaves 
were  five  thousand  men. 

45  And  straightway  he  con¬ 
strained  his  disciples  to  enter 
into  the  boat,  and  to  go  before 
him  unto  the  other  side  to 
Bethsaida,  while  he  himself 
sendeth  the  multitude  away. 

46  And  after  he  had  taken  leave  of 
them,  he  departed  into  the 

47  mountain  to  pray.  And 
when  even  was  come,  the  boat 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and 
he  alone  on  the  land. 

48  And  seeing  them  distressed  in 
rowing,  for  the  wind  was  con¬ 
trary  unto  them,  about  the  fourth 
watch  of  the  night  he  cometh 
unto  them,  walking  on  the  sea  ; 
and  he  would  have  passed  by 

49  them  :  but  they,  when  they  saw 
him  walking  on  the  sea,  supposed 
that  it  was  an  apparition,  and 
cried  out:  for  they  allsaw  him  and 


And  the  day  began  to  wear  12 
away  ;  and  the  twelve  came,  and 
said  unto  him,  Send  the  multi¬ 
tude  away,  that  they  may  go  into 
the  villages  and  country  round 
about,  and  lodge,  and  get  vic¬ 
tuals  :  for  we  are  here  in  a  desert 
place.  But  he  said  unto  them,  13 
Give  ye  them  to  eat.  And  they 
said,  We  have  no  more  than  five 
loaves  and  two  fishes ;  except 
we  should  go  and  buy  food  for 
all  this  people.  For  they  were  14 
about  five  thousand  men.  And 
he  said  unto  his  disciples,  Make 
them  sit  *  down  in  companies,*  Gr.reciine. 
about  fifty  each.  And  they  did  15 
so,  and  made  them  all  sit  *  down. 

And  he  took  the  five  loaves  and  16 
the  two  fishes,  and  looking  up  to 
heaven,  he  blessed  them,  and 
brake  ;  and  gave  to  the  disciples 
to  set  before  the  multitude. 

And  they  did  eat,  and  were  all  17 
filled  :  and  there  was  taken  up 
that  which  remained  over  to 
them  of  broken  pieces,  twelve 
baskets. 


And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  18 
was  praying  alone,  the 


APPENDIX  C 


269 


50  were  troubled.  But  he  straight¬ 
way  spake  with  them,  and  saith 
unto  them,  Be  of  good  cheer : 

51  it  is  I  ;  be  not  afraid.  And  he 
went  up  unto  them  into  the 

52  boat  and  the  wind  ceased  :  and 
they  were  sore  amazed  in  them¬ 
selves  ;  for  they  understood  not 
concerning  the  loaves,  but  their 
heart  was  hardened. 

viii. 

22  And  they  come  unto 
Bethsaida.  And  they 
bring  to  him  a  blind 
man,  and  beseech  him 

23  to  touch  him.  And  he  took 
hold  of  the  blind  man  by  the 
hand,  and  brought  him  out  of 
the  village ;  and  when  he  had 
spit  on  his  eyes,  and  laid  his 
hands  upon  him,  he  asked  him, 

24  Seest  thou  aught  ?  And  he 
looked  up  and  said,  I  see  men, 
for  I  behold  them  as  trees,  walk- 

25  ing.  Then  again  he  laid  his 
hands  upon  his  eyes  ;  and  he 
looked  steadfastly,  and  was  re¬ 
stored,  and  saw  all  things  clearly. 

26  And  he  sent  him  away  to  his 
home,  saying,  Do  not  even  enter 
into  the  village. 

27  And  Jesus  went  forth,  and 
his  disciples,  into  the  vil¬ 
lages  of  Caesarea  Philippi :  and 
in  the  way  he  asked  his 
disciples,  saying  unto  them, 
Who  do  men  say  that  I  am? 

28  And  they  told  him,  saying, 
John  the  Baptist :  and  others, 
Elijah  ;  but  others,  One  of  the 

29  prophets.  And  he  asked  them, 
But  who  say  ye  that  I  am? 
Peter  answereth  and  saith  unto 
him,  Thou  art  the  Christ. 


disciples  were  with  him : 
and  he  asked  them,  saying, 
Who  do  the  multitude  say  that 
I  am  ?  And  they  answering.  19 
said,  John  the  Baptist;  but 
others  say ,  Elijah  ;  and  others, 
that  one  of  the  old  prophets  is 
risen  again.  And  he  said  unto  20 
them,  But  who  say  ye  that  I  am  ? 
And  Peter  answering  said,  The 
Christ  of  God. 


If  this  was  originally  Mark’s  account,  the  order  both  of  places 
and  events  becomes  clear.*  Jesus  proposes  to  His  disciples  to 
escape  from  the  crowds,  as  He  had  done  before,  by  entering  into  a 
boat.  They  row  to  a  desert  place,  probably  on  the  same  side  of 
the  lake  as  Capernaum,  their  starting-point.  This,  however,  is  not 
sufficiently  remote ;  the  multitudes  follow.  The  feeding  of  the  five 
thousand  takes  place,  and  when  the  evening  approaches  Jesus  sends 
His  disciples  across  the  lake  to  Bethsaida,  where  they  will  have  a 
better  chance  of  quiet  than  in  their  own  town  of  Capernaum. 
Bethsaida  is  correctly  described  as  “  on  the  other  side,”  if  the  well- 


*  It  is  not  to  be  understood  in  what  follows,  or  in  any  part  of  this  chapter,  that  the 
writer  maintains  that  the  events  are  historical.  The  supposition  is  merely  that  the 
story  was  originally  narrated  by  one  who  was  acquainted  with  the  position  of  the 
localities  to  which  the  events,  whether  historical  or  not,  were  assigned. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


270 

known  Bethsaida  Julias  was  meant,  for  that  town  lay  east  of  Jordan 
at  the  north  end  of  the  lake. 

As  soon  as  the  disciples  have  gone  away  in  the  boat,  Jesus  dis¬ 
misses  the  multitudes  and  departs  into  the  mountain  (els  to  opos)  to 
pray.  Not  into  a  mountain,  but  the  mountain  ;  *  that  is,  the  well- 
known  mountain  behind  Capernaum,  which  was  His  accustomed 
retreat,  f 

In  this  order  of  events  Luke  follows  Mark’s  narrative  ;  provided 
we  give  to  Luke  ix.  10,  et  seq .,  its  natural  meaning — that  Jesus  and 
the  disciples  set  out  originally  for  Bethsaida,  and  that  the  feeding 
of  the  five  thousand  took  place  on  the  way.  In  abbreviating  the 
narrative  he  falls  into  the  awkward  expression  “  withdrew  apart  to 
a  city  called  Bethsaida,”  which,  however,  is  quite  consistent  with 
his  interpretation  of  the  narrative ;  and  he  also  manufactures  the 
still  more  awkward  “  seam  ”  whereby  the  “  praying  alone  ”  is  made 
to  take  place  on  the  same  occasion  as  Peter’s  Confession.  Such 
things  are  possible,  however,  to  an  ancient  editor.  J 

It  should,  I  think,  be  taken  as  a  confirmation  of  our  hypothesis, 
that  by  its  adoption  the  following  difficulties,  among  others, 
disappear : 

1.  It  has  generally  been  held  that  a  part,  at  least,  of  Jesus’ 
motive  in  leaving  Capernaum  for  Bethsaida  was  that  He  might 
escape  from  Herod’s  territory,  Herod  having  recently  heard  of  His 
fame.  If  so,  why  did  He  immediately  return  and  stay  there  ?  § 
Now,  in  our  supposed  tradition  Jesus  does  not  return  to  Galilee; 
He  passes  from  Bethsaida,  which  is  on  the  east  of  Jordan,  to 
Caesarea  Philippi,  and  so  remains  in  Philip’s  territory. 

2.  In  Mark’s  Gospel,  as  we  have  it  in  our  Bibles,  the  disciples  are 
sent  before  to  Bethsaida,  ||  and  yet  they  land  at  Gennesaret.  This 
has  been  explained  in  various  ways,  as,  for  instance,  by  the  sup¬ 
position  that  they  were  driven  out  of  their  course  by  the  storm,  or  by 
the  suggestion,  now  under  discussion,  that  there  was  a  second 
Bethsaida  not  mentioned  in  Jewish  history.  The  hypothetical 
“  Mark  ”  does  away  with  all  need  for  any  explanation ;  the  difficulty 
disappears. 

3.  The  occurrence  of  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand  and  of 
the  four  thousand  in  the  same  Gospel,  although  they  are  so 
obviously  variants,  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  a  difficulty  if  the 

*  See  Revised  Version. 

t  See  Matt.  v.  i  ;  xiv.  23 ;  xv.  29.  Mark  iii.  13  ;  vi.  46.  Luke  vi.  12 ;  ix.  28. 
John  vi.  3, 15. 

+  In  John  vi.  i,  for  instance,  the  evangelist  (or  his  editor)  retains  a  phrase  from  the 
earlier  document  which  does  not  fit  into  the  edited  narrative,  with  the  result  that  Jesus 
is  represented  as  departing  from  Jerusalem  to  “  the  other  side  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,” 
as  though  Jerusalem  were  situated  on  the  shore  of  the  lake. 

§  Mark  vi.  53.  ||  Mark  vi.  45. 


APPENDIX  C 


271 


Gospel  of  Mark  is  early  and  is  the  work  ol  one  hand.  The 
hypothesis  which  we  have  adopted  removes  both  the  narrative  of 
feeding  the  four  thousand  (viii.  1-10)  and  the  allusion  to  it  in 
viii.  16-21. 

4.  Dr.  Menzies,  in  his  book,  “The  Earliest  Gospel”  (p.  149), 
says  that  the  conflict  with  the  Pharisees  given  in  vii.  1-23,  “must 
belong  to  the  late  ministry,  when  the  difference  of  principle  between 
the  authorities  and  Jesus  has  come  to  be  recognised.”  This 
difficulty  is  by  our  hypothesis  removed. 

5.  The  enigmatical  phrases,  ‘  He  took  them,  and  withdrew  apart 
to  a  city”  *  and  “  As  He  was  praying  alone,  the  disciples  were  with 
him,”  t  are  explained  by  our  hypothesis  as  mentioned  above.  J 

Now,  it  is  by  no  means  necessary,  for  the  purpose  we  have  in 
view,  to  insist  upon  this  particular  form  of  the  earlier  “  Mark  ” ;  it 
is  sufficient  that  some  such  form  may  have  existed.  A  comparison 
of  the  Gospels  shows  that  there  is  at  least  much  uncertainty  as  to 
the  order  of  events  originally  set  forth;  and,  so  long  as  that  un¬ 
certainty  exists,  it  is  quite  gratuitous  to  invent  a  town,  for  the 
actuality  of  which  we  have  no  other  evidence  than  that  the  relation 
in  which  these  events  now  stand  to  each  other.  Apart  from  the 
order  of  the  Gospel  stories  there  is  no  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
a  second  Bethsaida,  and  that  order  being  in  the  highest  degree 
doubtful,  we  may  take  it  as  sufficiently  probable  that  there  was  but 
one.  Whether  the  “  desert  place  ”  and  “  the  mountain  ”  were  on 
the  east  or  on  the  west  of  the  lake,  a  considerable  bay  would  have 
to  be  crossed  in  order  to  reach  Bethsaida  on  the  north,  and  on  either 
supposition  the  geography  becomes  sufficiently  clear,  so  far  as 
Bethsaida  is  concerned.  The  well-known  Bethsaida  mentioned  by 
Josephus  answers  every  demand  of  the  narrative. 

Taking  it,  then,  as  sufficiently  probable,  that  there  was  only  one 
Bethsaida  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  lake,  namely,  that  near  the 
point  where  the  Jordan  enters  upon  the  north,  it  remains  to  inquire 
whether  this  town  of  Bethsaida  had  a  suburb  or  dependent  village 
of  the  same  name  connected  with  it,  as  some  geographers  have 
supposed  to  be  the  case. 

The  reason  for  such  a  supposition  is  that,  whether  or  not  Jesus 

*  Luke  ix.  10.  f  Luke  ix.  18. 

t  It  is  worth  noting  by  the  way  that  in  the  account  of  the  feeding  of  the  four 
thousand,  as  given  by  Matthew  (xv.  39),  the  disciples  landed  after  it  at  Magadan. 
This  is  identified  with  Mejdel  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret,  and  suggests  that  the 
feeding  of  the  five  thousand,  after  which  they  land  at  Gennesaret  (Mark  vi.  53),  is  a 
variant  of  the  feeding  of  the  four  thousand,  after  which  they  landed  at  Magadan, 
and  that  both  are  based  upon  some  incident  unconnected  in  fact  with  the  coming  to 
Bethsaida.  This  would  point  back  to  a  still  earlier  form  of  Mark’s  Gospel,  in  which 
vi.  35-44  also  was  wanting. 


272 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


did,  as  some  hold,  actually  make  Bethsaida  His  headquarters  for 
some  time  after  his  flight  from  Herod’s  territory  to  that  of  Philip, 
He  did  at  any  rate  perform  many  “  wonderful  works  there  ” ;  and  yet 
it  was  not  customary  for  any  pious  Jew,  and  appears  not  to  have 
been  customary  for  Jesus,  to  so  much  as  enter  such  a  purely  Greek 
town  as  that  of  Julias.  The  difficulty  would  be  met  if  the  old 
village  of  Bethsaida  remained  Jewish,  while  the  new  town  of 
“  Bethsaida  Julias,”  which  grew  from  it,  had  a  practically  separate 
population.  Josephus  mentions  that  Nero  gave  to  Agrippa  “  Julias, 
a  city  of  Peraea,  with  fourteen  villages  that  layabout  it.”*  Was  one 
of  these  villages  perhaps  the  original  nucleus  of  Bethsaida  Julias, 
just  as  Old  Hastings  with  its  fishing-boats  has  long  lived  side  by 
side  with  the  modern  town  of  Hastings,  separate  and  yet  important  ? 
The  origin  of  Julias  would  make  such  an  idea  quite  probable,  for 
what  we  read  in  Josephus’  history  f  is  that  Philip  “advanced  the 
village  Bethsaida,  situate  at  the  lake  of  Gennesareth,  into  the  dignity 
of  a  city,  both  by  the  number  of  inhabitants  it  contained,  and  its 
other  grandeur,  and  called  it  by  the  name  of  Julias,  the  same  name 
with  Caesar’s  daughter.” 

Now,  “Bethsaida”  means  Place  of  Fishing  or  Hunting — of  fish¬ 
ing  we  may  say  in  this  case,  since  it  was  the  city  of  Peter,  and  he 
was  the  fisherman.  But  et-Tell  is  more  than  a  mile  from  the  lake 
and  a  good  half  mile  from  the  Jordan,  so  that  if  et-Tell  is  indeed 
the  site  of  Bethsaida  Julias,  it  is  likely  that  the  foregoing  is  the 
true  account  of  the  matter — the  town  of  Bethsaida  has  to  be  dis¬ 
tinguished  from  the  old  lake-side  village  which  gave  to  the  town  its 
name.  It  has  accordingly  been  suggested  that  el-Araj,  the  ruins  of 
which  are  said  to  have  been  joined  to  et-Tell  by  a  Roman  road, 
was  the  original  village  of  Bethsaida.!  The  distance  from  el-Araj 
to  et-Tell  would  be  about  1  \  miles. 

There  is,  however,  another  site,  which,  before  accepting  this 
theory,  ought  to  be  carefully  considered  ;  it  is  that  of  el-Mesadiyeh. 
Thomson,  in  “The  Land  and  the  Book,”  says  that  when  he  was  there 
in  1855  the  Bedawin  in  the  Butaiha  applied  the  name  Bethsaida  to 
this  place.§  Moreover,  the  name  Mesadiyeb,  by  which  it  is  more 
generally  known,  is  “  a  derivative  from  the  same  root  as  Bethsaida, 
both  having  reference  to  fishing .”  One  is  tempted  at  first  to  say, 
“Why,  then,  seek  any  further?  Here  is  the  place  with  the  name 
still  surviving.”  The  difficulty,  however,  in  the  way  of  identifying 
this  place  with  the  ancient  village  of  Bethsaida,  is  that  if  et-Tell 
was  Bethsaida  Julias,  then  this  dependent  village  was  fcwo  miles 

*  Josephus,  “Ant.”  xx.  viii.  4.  f  Ibid,  xviii.  ii.  1. 

X  Schumacher,  quoted  in  “  Encyel.  Bibl.”  art.  “  Bethsaida.” 

§  Op.  cit.,  ed.  1866,  p.  360. 


APPENDIX  C 


273 

from  its  principal,  and  divided  from  it  by  a  broad  estuary  into 
which  three  streams  run ;  while,  if  we  give  up  the  idea  of  a 
suburban  Bethsaida,  and  take  Mesadiyeh  to  be  Bethsaida  Julias, 
we  are  in  conflict  with  the  description  of  the  situation  of  Julias 
given  by  Josephus.  Josephus  speaks  of  a  battle  in  which  an  earth¬ 
work  was  raised  “  a  furlong  off  Julias,  near  to  the  river  Jordan  ” ;  * 
and  he  elsewhere  describes  the  Jordan  as  “  passing  by  the  city 
Julias  ” ;  f  phrases  which  fit  et-Tell  admirably,  but  are  scarcely 
applicable  to  Mesadiyeh  ;  for  Mesadiyeh  is  a  good  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan. 

Professor  G.  A.  Smith  (citing  Thomson,  “Land  and  Book,” 
ed.  1877,  360),  in  his  article  on  Bethsaida  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
Biblica ,  speaks  of  the  site  as  having  been  fixed  “  either  at  et-Tell, 
a  mound  with  many  ruins,  close  to  the  Jordan  where  the  latter 
issues  from  the  hills,  or  at  Mesadiyeh,  by  the  mouth  of  the  river.” 
But  “  the  river  ”  by  the  mouth  of  which  Mesadiyeh  is  situated,  is 
not  the  Jordan,  but  the  stream  which  flows  down  the  Wadi 
es-Saffah  and  empties  itself  by  a  triple  channel  into  the  broad 
estuary  marked  on  the  Survey  Map  as  W.  el-Mesadiyeh.  It  lies 
on  the  east  side  of  the  estuary,  which  forms  a  natural  barrier, 
cutting  it  off  from  et-Tell  and  from  the  channel  of  the  Jordan. 

Whatever  may  be  thought,  therefore,  about  the  old  Jewish 
fishing  village  of  Bethsaida,  the  situation  of  et-Tell  accords  much 
more  closely  with  Josephus’  account  of  Bethsaida  Julias  than 
Mesadiyeh  does. 

Moreover,  et-Tell  is  a  place  “  where  there  are  many  ruins,”  and 
its  situation  on  a  mound  of  some  height  in  the  midst  of  the  Plain 
of  Butaiha  makes  it  a  likely,  and  the  only  likely  place,  for  a  town 
intended  to  dominate  the  surrounding  district. 

One  other  fact  is  mentioned  by  Thomson  which  appears  to  me 
rather  significant.  It  is  that  there  is  another  site  named  Mesady 
“  on  the  rocky  hill  west  of  the  Jordan,  and  higher  up  the  gorge.” 
Is  it  not  possible  that  this  was  one  of  the  “  fourteen  villages  ” 
around  Bethsaida  Julias  which  Nero  gave  to  Agrippa  ?  And  is 
not,  perhaps,  the  true  account  of  the  matter  this  :  that  Bethsaida 
was  a  small  district  consisting  of  Julias  (et-Tell)  and  fourteen 
dependent  villages  lying  on  both  banks  of  the  Jordan  near  about 
its  outlet  into  the  Sea  of  Galilee  ? 

Such  a  theory  would  harmonise  several  conflicting  matters.  It 
would  explain  why  Bethsaida  is  said  by  Josephus  to  be  in  Lower 
Gaulonitis,  and  yet  is  called  by  the  Evangelist  John  “  Bethsaida  of 
Galilee.”  It  would  permit  us  to  retain  the  identification  of  Beth¬ 
saida  Julias  with  et-Tell,  and  yet  would  consist  with  Bethsaida 
*  “Life,”  sec.  72.  t  “Wars,”  iii.  X.  7. 

S 


274 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


being  “  the  city  of  Andrew  and  Peter,”  the  fishermen.  It  would 
harmonise  the  practice  of  Jesus  as  a  pious  Jew  avoiding  the  heathen 
Julias  and  yet  working  many  mighty  miracles  in  Bethsaida.  And 
it  would  account  for  the  name  “  Mesady  ”  lingering  to  this  day 
on  both  banks  of  the  Jordan,  in  the  one  case  near  the  lake  and  in 
the  other  at  some  distance  from  the  shore. 

As  to  the  question  where  stood  the  particular  village  which  Jesus 
frequented — the  old  home  of  Andrew,  Peter,  and  Philip — our  first 
impulse  would  be  to  assign  it  to  the  high  bank  along  the  lake  shore 
now  known  as  Mesadiyeh,  where,  as  I  have  said,  the  identical 
name  Bethsaida  is  reported  still  to  linger  among  the  Bedawin  who 
camp  there.  True,  it  is  somewhat  far  from  the  central  mound 
upon  which  we  believe  that  Julias  stood;  but  if,  as  we  are  supposing, 
the  name  Bethsaida  was  given  to  the  whole  group  of  villages,  this 
would  be  no  valid  objection  ;  and  it  is,  moreover,  to  be  observed 
that  although  the  triple  stream  of  which  I  have  spoken  above  seems 
to  form  an  obstacle  to  any  close  connection  with  et-Tell,  yet  these 
streams  are  not  always  impassable,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  road 
exists  at  this  day  which  cuts  across  all  three.  Either  this  or  el- 
Araj  seems  by  far  the  most  probable  site ;  and  of  those  two,  one  is 
situated  on  one  side  of  the  estuary  mentioned  above,  the  other  on 
the  opposite  side,  so  that  it  matters  little  which  we  choose,  the 
outlook  and  surroundings,  the  relation  to  the  story,  are  so  nearly 
identical.  In  either  case  the  estuary  of  the  W.  el  Mesadiyeh  would 
serve  as  a  natural  harbour  for  the  fishing-boats  of  Bethsaida. 


D.  THE  CAPERNAUM  QUESTION 

Part  I.  The  Fountain  of  Capernaum 

The  keystone  of  the  Capernaum  question — the  question,  that  is, 
where  Capernaum,  the  later  home  of  Jesus,  was  situated — is  to  be 
found  in  the  description  which  Josephus  gives  of  the  Plain  of 
Gennesaret.  His  description  is  as  follows  : 

“  This  country  also  which  lies  over  against  this  lake  hath  the 


APPENDIX  D 


275 

same  name  of  Gennesareth ;  its  nature  is  wonderful  as  well  as  its 
beauty ; — it  supplies  men  with  the  principal  fruits,  with  grapes  and 
figs  continually,  during  ten  months  of  the  year,  and  the  rest  of  the 
fruits  as  they  become  ripe  together,  through  the  whole  year;  for 
besides  the  good  temperature  of  the  air,  it  is  also  watered  from  a 
most  fertile  fountain.*  The  people  of  the  country  call  it  Caphar- 
naum.  Some  have  thought  it  to  be  a  vein  of  the  Nile,  because  it 
produces  the  Coracin  fish  as  well  as  that  lake  does  which  is  near  to 
Alexandria.”  j* 

According  to  Josephus,  therefore,  there  was  a  spring  called 
ra(f)apyaov[j..  But  the  name  of  the  spring  thus  given  corresponds  in 
spelling  with  the  name  of  the  town  as  it  appears  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  Manuscripts  Nbdz.  The  natural  inference  is  that  the  town 
Capernaum  stood  at  or  near  a  spring  of  that  name.  Can  we,  then, 
identify  the  spring  from  the  description  which  Josephus  gives  ? 

r .  The  Spring  Capernaum  watered  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret. 

The  first  point  is  that  the  spring  is  y ovL/ucoraTr].  I  am  not  sure  whether 
it  is  justifiable  to  translate  this,  as  Professor  G.  A.  Smith  has  done, 
by  the  word  “  copious.”  Josephus  is  not  insisting  so  much  upon  its 
size  as  upon  its  fertilising  properties.  But  in  any  case  it  must  have 
been  a  noticeable  spring,  or  Josephus  would  not  have  so  emphati¬ 
cally  remarked  upon  it.  The  Plain  of  Gennesaret  contains  several 
springs  :  is  any  one  of  them  more  noticeable  than  the  others  ? 

Travelling  from  Mejdel  northwards  you  first  cross  a  stream  which 
comes  down  the  Wadi  Hamam,  or  Valley  of  the  Doves  ;  next,  that 
which  flows  from  the  Round  Fountain,  known  as  Ain  Mudawarah; 
third,  a  stream  which  issues  from  the  Wadi  Rabadiyeh ;  fourth,  one 
which  comes  from  Wadi  el-Amfld  ;  and  fifth,  you  have  at  the 
extreme  north  of  the  plain,  close  to  the  ruins  of  Khan  Minyeh,  the 
Ain  et-Tin,  or  Fountain  of  the  Fig-tree.  These,  I  think,  are  the 
principal  springs  and  streams  which  cross  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret, 
although  there  are  said  to  be  minor  springs  rising  in  the  plain  itself 
which  are  nameless.  Tristram,  in  fact,  speaks  of  Gennesaret  as 
“  rendered  very  marshy  ”  by  its  streams ;  and  one  wonders  at  first 
why  Josephus  should  have  spoken  of  it  as  watered  by  any  particular 
stream  when  there  are  so  many  to  water  it. 

We  must  remember,  however,  that  it  is  not  always  springtime  or 
winter  in  Palestine,  and  that  in  the  summer  even  a  plain  like  that  of 
Gennesaret  can  be  anything  but  “  marshy.”  Tristram’s  remark  was 
made  during  a  spring  visit ;  but  when  I  was  there  in  the  unusually  dry 

*  rbjyn  ScdpSercu  ycmjuwraTfl.  A  good  deal  depends,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  upon 
this  phrase.  t  Whiston’s  “Josephus,”  “Wars,”  iii.  x.  8. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


276 

springtime  of  1901  a  great  part  of  the  plain,  especially  the  northern 
half,  was  very  parched.  For  this  reason,  irrigation  is  necessary  in  the 
Plain  of  Gennesaret  as  well  as  in  most  parts  of  Palestine,  and  it  is 
pretty  clear  that  some  particular  stream  was  used  to  irrigate  the 
plain,  on  which  account  Josephus  says  that  the  plain  diapforai  (is 
watered  throughout)  by  it.  The  streams  mentioned  above  cut 
across  the  short  breadth  of  the  plain,  and  none  of  them  by  its 
natural  flow  can  be  said  to  “water  the  plain  throughout,”  but  some 
of  them  have  been  and  are  used  for  irrigation,  and  it  is  possible, 
therefore,  that  it  was  to  one  of  these  Josephus  referred. 

Taking  the  waters  mentioned  above  in  their  topographical  order, 
that  which  comes  from  the  Wadi  Hamam  may  be  neglected.  It  is 
less  in  importance  than  either  the  second  or  the  third,  could  never 
have  watered  more  than  a  portion  of  the  southern  end  of  the  plain, 
and  has  been  claimed  by  no  one  as  the  stream  Capernaum.  The 
second  spring,  known  as  Ain  Mudawarah,  or  the  Round  Fountain, 
is  more  noteworthy ;  it  sends  a  considerable  stream  to  the  lake, 
from  which  it  is  about  half  a  mile  distant.  But  this,  again,  as  an 
irrigating  agent  seems  to  be  out  of  the  question.  Dr.  Selah  Merrill, 
who  examined  it  more  than  once,  has  no  hesitation  upon  this  point. 
“  I  visited  again,”  he  writes  in  1876,  “Ain  Mudawarah,  or  the  Round 
Fountain,  on  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret,  and  am  certain  that  only  a 
small  portion  of  the  plain  could  ever  have  been  irrigated  from  it.  It 
lies  too  low  by  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  and  there  are  no  means  of  raising 
the  water  to  such  a  height.”  *  Robinson,  writing  some  forty  years 
earlier,  had  also  noticed  that  this  spring  watered  only  “  the  ground 
between  it  and  the  lake.”  f 

The  third  stream,  coming  from  the  Wadi  Rabadiyeh,  is  noticed 
by  most  explorers  as  one  which  might  possibly,  by  aid  of  proper 
irrigation  works,  “  water  the  plain  throughout.”  Robinson  speaks 
of  it  as  “  a  very  copious  stream  of  pure  water,  which  is  scattered 
over  the  plain  in  all  directions,  by  means  of  small  canals  and  water¬ 
courses,”  and  in  comparing  it  with  the  other  springs  of  Gennesaret, 
and  especially  with  the  Round  Fountain,  he  says  :  “  The  main  irri¬ 
gation  comes  from  the  more  abundant  stream  of  Wadi  er-Rabadiyeh, 
which  is  now,  and  doubtless  was  of  old,  carried  to  various  parts  of 
the  plain  on  both  sides  of  that  fountain.”  Dr.  Merrill,  too,  after 
rejecting  the  Round  Fountain,  continues :  “  In  the  Rabadiyeh 
stream,  however,  there  is  a  copious  supply  of  water,  and  it  is  at  such 
a  height  that  it  could  easily  be  carried  by  canals  to  all  parts  of  the 
plain.”  J 

The  fourth  stream,  Wadi  el-Amitd,  is  a  stream  of  small  import- 

*  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  300.  f  “  Biblical  Researches,”  1841,  vol.  iii.  p.  284. 

4  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  300. 


APPENDIX  D 


277 


ance  compared  with  the  preceding.  It  was  dry  when  we  passed,  and 
it  has  not,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  appeared  among  the  claimants  to 
the  honours  of  Capernaum. 

The  fifth  fountain,  the  Ain  et-Tin,  has  received  more  attention 
than  it  deserves.  The  beauty  of  the  pool  in  which  it  rises,  lying  in 
the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  and  overhung  by  an  aged  fig-tree,  has  pre¬ 
judiced  travellers  in  its  favour ;  and  since  it  happens  to  flow  near 
ruins  which  have  on  various  grounds  a  strong  case  to  present  in  the 
suit  for  the  title  of  Capernaum,  some  travellers  have  tried  hard  to 
persuade  themselves  that  this  is  the  spring  of  which  Josephus  speaks. 
Robinson,  following  a  reading  non  hoot  art]  instead  of  yovificorarr)  de¬ 
scribed  Josephus’  spring,  Capernaum,  as  “  most  potable,”  in  which 
respect  he  declared  that  Ain  et-Tin  agreed  with  the  description. 
Whereupon,  good  Dr.  Thomson  declares,  “  I  can  never  abide  this 
water  of  Ain  et-Tiny,  but  always  drink  that  of  the  lake,”  a  verdict 
with  which  the  present  writer,  having  tasted  both,  can  in  no  wise  agree. 

The  question  of  potability  is  not,  however,  of  importance ;  it  is 
clear  from  Josephus’  description  that  the  fountain  of  Capernaum  did 
irrigate  the  plain,  and  it  is  equally  clear  from  observation  that  Ain 
et-Tin  can  do  nothing  of  the  sort.  Thomson  says  that  the  Ain 
“  comes  out  close  to  the  lake,  and  on  a  level  with  the  surface .”  J-  Dr. 
John  Wilson  more  cautiously  observes  that  it  “  cannot  with  propriety 
be  said  to  be  that  which  distinctively  waters  the  plain,  properly  so 
called.”^  Sir  Charles  Wilson  says,  “Ain  et-Tin  is  a  small  weak 
spring,  and  could  never  have  irrigated  anything.”  §  Tristram  gives 
the  course  of  the  stream  from  the  fountain  to  the  marsh  by  the 
lake-shore  as  only  ninety-five  feet,  ||  and  says  that  it  cannot  have 
watered  the  plain  through  its  course.  Mr.  J.  Macgregor,  who  made 
some  careful  observations  here,  says  that  the  level  of  the  spring  is 
about  eight  feet  higher  than  that  of  the  lake.^f  In  fact,  no  one  who 
has  seen  the  place  can  imagine  for  a  moment  that  the  plain  can  ever 
have  been  watered  from  this  pool  by  the  shore. 

So  far,  then,  the  Rabadiyeh  stream  is  the  only  one  which  we  need 
seriously  consider  in  relation  to  the  question  of  irrigation.  But  now, 
before  we  more  closely  inquire  into  the  possibility  of  this  being  the 
fountain  mentioned  by  Josephus,  there  is  yet  another  source  for  us 
to  consider. 

When  the  traveller  riding  northwards  through  the  Plain  of  Gen- 
nesaret  has  crossed  the  various  streams  which  we  have  enumerated, 

*  “  Later  Bibl.  Researches,”  p.  350.  See  also  another  gloss  in  “  Bibl.  Researches," 
p.  291,  where  "aiding  in  watering  and  fertilising”  cannot  fairly  give  the  force  of 
SiapSercu. 

f  "The  Land  and  the  Book,  p.  350.  f  “  Lands  of  the  Bible,”  vol  ii.  p.  139. 

§  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  377. 

||  "  Land  of  Israel,”  pp.  424>  43°-  %  “  Rob  R°y  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  366. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


278 

he  comes  at  the  further  horn  of  the  crescent  to  a  barrier  of  rock 
which  runs  down  to  the  very  margin  of  the  lake  and  actually  projects 
into  its  waters,  thus  closing  in  this  fertile  plain  and  apparently  pre¬ 
venting  all  direct  advance.  At  this  point  his  guide  will  turn  away 
from  the  shore,  and  climbing  the  slope  will  presently  point  out  a 
trough  cut  across  the  top  of  the  rocky  bluff,  enabling  the  traveller  to 
continue  his  journey  in  the  northerly,  or  rather  north-easterly, 
direction.  This  curious  road,  thus  hollowed  out  in  the  rock,  conducts 
him  to  another  small  plain,  in  which  he  discovers  to  his  astonishment 
a  magnificent  torrent.  When  he  sees  this  river  leaping  and  foaming 
down  the  mountain-side,  and  hears  it  roaring  over  the  broken 
parapets  of  old  aqueducts,  his  first  thought  is,  “Why  have  I  been 
searching  among  the  driblets  of  Gennesaret  for  the  fountain  of 
Capernaum,  when  here,  hidden  only  by  a  bar  of  rock,  is  this  glorious 
rush  of  water  ?  This  most  assuredly  is  the  fountain  which  caught 
the  eye  of  Josephus  and  dwelt  in  his  imagination  when  he  described 
this  district.”  But  the  enthusiast  is  suddenly  pulled  up  by  the 
recollection  that  the  fountain  of  Capernaum  “  watered  the  plain  of 
Gennesareth  throughout,”  and  even  supposing  (what  is  possible) 
that  Josephus  included  this  little  Plain  of  Tabigha  in  the  whole  Plain 
of  Gennesaret,  yet  this  great  stream  of  Tabigha,  abundant  as  it  is 
could  never,  one  might  say,  have  watered  the  whole  length  of  the 
plain,  since  the  greater  part  is  cut  off  by  the  rocky  headland  which 
we  have  just  passed. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  we  must  bring  into  the  argument  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  recent  years  that  the  waters  of  Tabigha  were  probably 
carried  at  one  time  into  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret  by  that  trough  cut 
in  the  dividing  rock,  which  I  have  already  noticed  as  being  used  for  a 
road  at  the  present  day. 

Robinson,  in  his  “  Later  Researches,”  which  were  undertaken  in 
1852,  without  fully  appreciating  the  bearing  of  his  observation  (for 
he  maintained  to  the  end  that  Ain  et-Tin  was  the  Fountain  Caphar- 
naum)  wrote  as  follows  respecting  this  road  connecting  the  Plain  of 
Gennesaret  with  the  Plain  of  Tabigha  :  “  One  feature  of  the  excava¬ 
tion  surprised  us,  namely,  that  tor  most  of  the  way  there  is  a 
channel  cut  in  the  rock,  about  three  feet  deep  and  as  many  wide, 
which  seemed  evidently  to  have  been  an  aqueduct  once  conveying 
water  for  irrigating  the  northern  part  of  the  Plain  el-Ghuweir.  There 
was  no  mistaking  the  nature  and  object  of  this  channel ;  and  yet 
no  waters  were  near,  which  could  be  thus  conveyed,  except  from  the 
fountains  of  et-Tabighah,”  * 

Thomson  seems  to  have  accepted  this  discovery,  and  mentions 
in  his  dialogues  (which  he  dates  1857,  but  which  are  in  part  based 

*  Op.  cit.,  p.  345. 


APPENDIX  D 


279 

on  earlier  observations),  “  the  channel  of  the  ancient  canal  which 
conveyed  the  water  from  Tabigha  westward  to  this  Plain  [of 
Gennesaret]  ”  * 

In  1869-70  Captain  (afterwards  Sir  Charles)  Wilson  surveyed  this 
district,  and  worked  out  in  detail  this  hypothesis  of  an  aqueduct 
from  the  spring  of  Tabigha  to  Gennesaret.  “  Connected  with  this 
fountain,”  he  says,  “  are  the  remains  of  some  remarkable  works 
which  at  one  time  raised  its  waters  to  a  higher  level,  and  conveyed 
them  bodily  into  the  Plain  of  Gennesareth  for  purposes  of  irrigation. 
The  source  is  enclosed  in  an  octagonal  reservoir  of  great  strength, 
by  means  of  which  the  water  was  raised  about  twenty  feet  to  the 
level  of  an  aqueduct  that  ran  along  the  side  of  the  hill.  Strong  as 
the  reservoir  was,  the  water  has  at  last  broken  through  it,  and  there 
is  now  little  more  than  two  feet  left  at  the  bottom,  in  which  a 
number  of  small  fish  may  be  seen  playing  about.  After  leaving  the 
reservoir  the  aqueduct  can  be  traced  at  intervals  following  the 
contour  of  the  ground  to  the  point  where  it  crossed  the  beds  of 
two  watercourses  on  arches,  of  which  the  piers  may  still  be  seen  ; 
it  then  turns  down  towards  the  lake,  and  runs  along  the  hillside  on 
the  top  of  a  massive  retaining  wall,  of  which  fifty  or  sixty  yards 
remain,  and  lastly  passes  round  the  Khan  Minyeh  cliff  by  a 
remarkable  excavation  in  the  solid  rock,  which  has  been  noticed  by 
all  travellers.  The  elevation  of  the  aqueduct  at  this  point  is  suffi¬ 
cient  to  have  enabled  the  water  brought  by  it  to  irrigate  the  whole 
Plain  of  Gennesareth ;  and  though  we  could  only  trace  it  for  a  few 
hundred  yards  inland,  it  was  not  improbably  carried  right  round  the 
head  of  the  plain ;  the  same  causes  which  have  almost  obliterated  it 
in  the  small  Plain  of  Tabighah  would  fully  account  for  its  disappear¬ 
ance  in  Gennesareth.”  *j*  On  this  last  point  Sir  Charles  Wilson 
remarks  elsewhere, :f  that  from  the  mouths  of  each  of  the  valleys 
which  debouch  into  Gennesaret,  “  aqueducts  are  carried  to  the  right 
and  left,  for  the  irrigation  of  the  plain.  Some  appear  to  be  very  old, 
and  may  formerly  have  been  connected  with  the  Tabigah  spring, 
which  would  supply  water  when  the  streams  were  dry.” 

Wilson’s  observations  were  confirmed  by  Kitchener  in  1877.  He 
found  “  considerable  remains  of  the  masonry  of  the  aqueduct  leading 
to  the  rock-cut  portion,  and  a  small  piece  beyond,  with  the  water¬ 
course  coated  with  thick  cement.”  The  levels  which  he  took  showed 
that  the  “  height  of  the  top  of  the  reservoir  ”  was  fifty-one  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  lake,  while  the  rock-cut  aqueduct  was  fifty-two 
feet  four  inches  above  the  same.  So  that,  in  its  original  condition , 
before  it  was  ruined,  the  reservoir  would  give  a  sufficient  fall  to  the 

*  “  The  Land  and  the  Book,”  1866,  pp.  350,  354. 

f  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  349.  +  Ibid.  p.  352. 


280 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


aqueduct.  The  aqueduct  itself  he  found  had  a  fall  of  seven  feet  in 
the  mile  toward  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret.*  The  conclusion  was 
accepted  by  Merrill  j*  and  other  authorities.  Macgregor  remarked 
that  the  section  of  the  rock-cut  aqueduct  was  “  like  an  inverted 
horseshoe  ;  the  very  least  convenient  form  for  a  road,  and  the  very 
best  for  a  channel.”  J 

Colonel  Conder,  however,  revisiting  the  spot  in  1882,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  aqueduct  theory  was  improbable,  “  and  that  the 
rock-cutting  in  the  Minieh  cliff  represents  an  ancient  road.”  He 
based  this  conclusion  partly  on  the  view  that  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret 
would  more  easily  have  been  irrigated  from  the  springs  in  it,  than 
by  bringing  the  water  from  el-Tabigha,§  to  which  it  may  be 
answered  that  in  the  summer  the  northern  half  of  the  plain  is  at  the 
present  time  very  dry  and  parched,  and  that  the  supply  of  water 
required  for  such  gardens  and  orchards  as  Josephus  describes, 
would  be  greater  even  than  that  required  at  present.  In  part 
he  appealed  to  observations  on  the  construction  of  the  supposed 
aqueduct,  “  that  there  are  no  remains  of  any  cement  on  the  sides  or 
bed  of  the  channel  ”  ;  that  “  to  the  east  a  paved  path  continues  from 
the  rock-cut  portion,  and  gradually  descends  to  the  shore  of  the 
lake  ||  ;  that  the  level  of  the  channel,  as  far  as  could  be  judged  by 
observations  taken  with  an  Abney’s  level,  seems  to  be  possibly  ten  or 
twenty  feet  above  the  top  of  the  reservoir  ” ;  that  “  the  mortar  and 
plaster  of  the  Birket  appear  to  be  modern  ” ;  that  it  “  was  built  up 
to  its  present  height  by  one  of  the  sonsi  of  the  famous  Dhahr- 
el-Amr  in  the  last  [1 8th]  century,”  and  that  “between  this  spring 
and  the  passage  there  are  no  traces  of  any  aqueduct.”^! 

Only  two  of  these  objections  appear  disastrous  to  the  aqueduct 
theory  :  namely,  that  which  relates  to  the  relative  levels  of  the  spring 
and  the  channel,  and  that  which  alleges  an  absence  of  any  traces 
of  an  aqueduct  connecting  the  two.  Both  of  these  are  in  direct 
contradiction  to  the  observations  of  Wilson  and  Kitchener;  we  must 
await  their  settlement  by  experts.**  As  to  the  masonry  of  the 
octagonal  reservoir,  Conder  admits  that  the  lower  blocks  are  of 
larger  size  ;  Dr.  John  Wilson  jj*  and  Canon  Tristram  H  speak  of  the 
work  as  Roman ;  and  we  are  free  to  believe  that  the  son  of 

*  “  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1877,  p.  123.  f  “East  of  the  Jordan,”  1881,  p.  457. 

t  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,'’  p.  372.  §  “Tent-work,”  p.  294. 

||  This  paved  path  may,  of  course,  be  a  later  addition.  “At  Ain-Fijeh  precisely 
similar  rock-cuttings,  made  for  aqueducts,  were  afterwards  used  for  roads.” 
P.E.F.Q.S.,  1882,  p.  225  fn. 

IT  Ibid.  pp.  223-4,  and  “  Tent-work,”  p.294. 

**  Since  the  above  was  written,  Prof.  Wm.  Knight  (late  of  St.  Andrews),  at  my 
suggestion,  has  tested  the  level  with  an  aneroid,  and  found  the  spring  ten  or  twelve 
feet  above  the  highest  point  of  the  aqueduct.  See  “Expositor,”  July,  1906. 

ft  “  Lands  of  the  Bible,  vol.  ii.  p.  142. 

JJ  “  The  Land  of  Israel,”  p.  425. 


APPENDIX  D 


281 


Dhahr-el-Amr,  when  he  set  his  mills  going,  merely  heightened  the 
broken  wall  of  an  ancient  reservoir,  *  and  cemented  the  whole  with 
the  “  modern  ”  cement  referred  to  by  Conder. 

To  my  own  mind,  such  doubts  are  almost  or  quite  outweighed  by 
a  passage  in  “Purchas  His  Pilgrimes  ”  which  seems  to  me  something 
like  proof  that  the  rock-cut  aqueduct  was  actually  in  operation  as  late 
as  a.d.  1601.  Mr.  Macgregor  refers  to  the  passage  in  a  footnote,! 
without,  as  I  think,  fully  appreciating  the  importance  of  the  refer¬ 
ence.  The  quotation  is  from  “The  Voyages  of  Master  Iohn 
Sanderson,”  who  left  Jerusalem  on  July  8,  1601,  reached  Jenin  on 
the  1  ith,  and  Tiberias  on  the  12th.  Master  Sanderson  continues  the 
account  of  his  journey  as  follows  :  “  We  came  to  Almenia ,  which  hath 
beene  a  great  Citie  also,  seven  or  eight  miles  off,  close  built  by  the  Sea¬ 
side,  along  through  which  runneth  a  Channell  of  Iordan ;  this 
undoubtedly  is  Capernaum ,  for  that  it  is  over  the  point  of  the  Land, 
where  we  lodged.”! 

Upon  this  passage  Mr.  Macgregor  remarks  that  the  “  sound  of  the 
word  [Almenia]  very  much  resembles  that  of  Khan  Minyeh.”  We 
would  suggest  that  it  not  merely  “resembles,”  but  is  practically 
identical  with  the  name,  not  indeed  of  the  Khan,  but  of  the  place 
— that  Almenia  and  el-Minyeh  are  to  all  intents  one  and  the  same. 
There  is,  in  fact,  evidence  extant  that  in  1430  the  place  was  called 
El  Munya,  which  is  probably  no  other  than  the  Spanish  name 
Almunia,§  and  it  is  likely  enough  that  Sanderson  received  it  in  this 
form  from  the  (probably  Spanish)  Jews  with  whom  he  travelled.  It 
is  moreover  abundantly  evident  from  the  context  that  Minyeh  and 
no  other  was  the  place  where  Master  John  Sanderson  lodged. 

Now,  what  is  that  “  Channel  of  Jordan  ”  which  he  mentions  ?  It 
cannot  have  been  any  of  the  streams  which  cross  the  plain,  all  of 
which  are  somewhat  distant  from  Minyeh,  and  cross  at  right  angles 
to  the  direction  of  the  Jordan  :  still  less  can  it  have  been  the  little  Ain 
et-Tin,  with  its  crystal  pool ;  and  to  Tabigha  Master  Sanderson  did 
not  go.  It  must  surely  have  been  some  considerable  flow  of  water 
running  in  a  line  with  the  direction  of  the  Jordan.  Suppose  that 
Master  Sanderson,  camping  at  Minyeh  under  the  limestone  pro¬ 
montory  behind  the  Khan,  sees  issuing  from  a  channel  across  that 
promontory  a  swift  and  abundant  river,  which  flows  along  the  plain 
in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  shore  of  the  lake,  what  would  be  his 
natural  inference  ?  He  has  not  been  beyond  the  rocks  of  Minyeh, 
and  is  unaware  of  the  existence  of  the  great  springs  of  Tabigha ;  he 
knows,  however,  that  he  is  but  a  short  distance  from  the  head  of 

*  On  this  point,  see  Kitchener  in  “  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1877,  p.  123. 

t  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  373  fn. 

X  “  Purchas  His  Pilgrimes,”  Part  ii.  p.  1635.  §  Smith,  “  Hist.  Geog.”  p.  456  fn. 


282 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


the  lake  where  the  Jordan  flows  in.  He  infers,  of  course,  that  this 
flood  is  a  side  stream  of  the  Jordan.  “Coming  from  so  high  a 
level,”  as  Mr.  Macgregor  remarks,  “  the  stream  might  readily  be 
mistaken  tor  a  canalette  from  the  river,  like  those  we  have  described 
in  connection  with  the  Abana,*  and,  indeed,  quite  similar  to  these 
both  in  purpose  and  in  construction.” 

In  a.d.  1601,  therefore,  this  channel  was,  it  seems,  still  in  use 
to  convey  the  water  of  Tabigha,  a  fact  which  ought  to  set  at  rest 
the  question  “  Road  or  aqueduct  ?  ”  Taking  this  into  account  it 
seems  clear  that  Ain  Tabigha  must  be  admitted  as  having  a  strong 
claim  to  be  the  spring  described  by  Josephus. 

To  sum  up  this  part  of  the  question,  we  must  say,  I  think,  that 
if  we  have  regard  only  to  the  question  of  irrigation,  the  evidence  is 
fairly  strong  that  the  Fountain  Capernaum  was  either  the  Rabadiyeh 
stream  or  that  of  Ain  Tabigha,  and  that  if  we  take  copiousness 
and  prominence  into  account  the  balance  seems  to  be  in  favour  of 
the  latter.  The  streams  of  Tabigha  flow  from  five  fountains,  one  of 
which  “  is  by  far  the  largest  spring  in  Galilee,  and  was  estimated  to 
be  more  than  half  the  size  of  the  celebrated  source  of  the  Jordan  at 
Banias.”f  It  is  likely,  therefore,  to  have  attracted  the  historian’s 
attention,  and  I  think  it  has  been  shown  that  in  all  probability 
this  spring  did  actually  “  water  throughout  ”  the  Plain  of  Gen- 
nesaret. 

2.  It  produced  the  Coracin  Fish. 

The  question,  “  Where  was  the  Fountain  of  Capharnaum  ?  ”  can¬ 
not,  however,  be  yet  regarded  as  concluded,  for  the  fact  that  it 
irrigated  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret  is  not  the  only  fact  mentioned  by 
Josephus.  He  mentions,  also,  that  it  was  thought  by  some  “  to 
be  a  vein  of  the  Nile,  because  it  produces  the  Coracin  fish  |  as  well 
as  that  lake  does  which  is  near  to  Alexandria.”  And  when  we  take 
this  additional  statement  into  account,  the  whole  question  seems  at 
first  to  be  thrown  back  into  the  melting-pot. 

Travellers  long  searched  in  vain  the  various  streams  for  the 
Egyptian  Coracinus,  and,  not  finding  it,  were  content  to  argue  in  an 
a  priori  fashion  about  what  could  and  could  not  be.  Robinson 
proved  conclusively  that  the  fountain  of  Josephus  could  not  be  the 
Round  Fountain  of  Ain  Mudawarah,  because  the  latter  was  so  far 
inland  that  no  fish  of  any  size  could  pass  to  it ;  but  he  thought  that 
in  all  probability  it  was  Ain  et-Tin,  because  that  was  just  such  a 
spring  as  the  fish  could  reach.  §  Thomson  quite  agreed  that  it 

*  A  district,  by  the  way,  which  John  Sanderson  had  previously  visited. 

t  Wilson  and  Warren,  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  348.  See  also  p.  377  of  the 
same  work.  %  Concerning  this  fish,  see  ante ,  p.  119. 

§  “  Biblical  Researches”  (1841),  iii.  p.  291. 


APPENDIX  D 


283 

could  not  possibly  be  the  Round  Fountain,  but  thought  that  Ain 
et-Tin  was  equally  unlikely.*  Then  comes  Tristram  in  1864,  and 
upsets  every  one  by  finding  the  Coracinus  in  the  Round  Fountain 
in  abundance  and  ol  unusually  large  size. I 

This  discovery  of  Canon  Tristram’s  naturally  induces  one  to  re¬ 
consider  the  question  of  Ain  Mudawarah.  However,  it  does  not 
dispose  of  the  difficulty  that,  next  to  Ain  et-Tin,  Ain  Mudawarah  is 
just  the  most  impossible  spring  ever  to  have  watered  the  plain  to 
any  extent ;  and  the  safest  course  seems  to  be  to  inquire  more 
particularly  into  the  relation  between  the  Coracin  fish  and  all  the 
streams  of  the  neighbourhood.  Is  it  always  in  Ain  Mudawarah  ; 
and  is  it  never  anywhere  else  ? 

The  first  thing  we  note  is  that  the  Coracinus  is  not  always  in  the 
Round  Fountain.  Mr.  Macgregor  carefully  examined  it  all  over 
and  found  none  of  the  fish  hiding  in  the  sediment.  J  Other  travel¬ 
lers  have  searched  it  with  the  same  result. 

A  second  point  is  that  the  fish  is  found  abundantly  in  the  lake.  § 
It  passes  thence  up  the  streams  and  may  conceivably  be  found  in 
any  of  those  which  flow  into  the  lake.  It  has  not,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  been  found  at  Ain  et-Tin,  though  Thomson,  Tristram,  and 
Macgregor  seem  all  to  have  searched  that  spring  for  it.  Neither 
has  it  been  found  in  any  other  of  the  Gennesaret  streams,  though 
the  last-named  traveller  searched  them  all.  ||  But  Thomson  admits 
that  certain  kinds  of  fish  delight  to  come  in  cold  weather  to  those 
fountains  that  are  tepid  and  slightly  brackish, ®f[  and  Tristram 
mentions  Ain  Tabigha  in  particular,  “  where  the  water  is  hot  and 
brackish,”  as  a  stream  which  the  Coracinus  would  be  likely  to 
haunt. 

At  this  point  comes  the  very  instructive  evidence  obtained  by 
Mr.  Macgregor  on  the  habits  of  the  fish  :  “  After  a  diligent  search 
in  all  the  streams  and  fountains  of  Gennesareth,  and  a  total  failure 
to  discover  any  of  the  Coracinus  fish  there,  I  made  particular  in¬ 
quiries  from  the  five  fishermen  who  came  to  my  camp  in  their 
boat  by  invitation,  and  were  most  courteous  and  intelligent  in  their 
talk.  The  men  told  me — and  not  in  reply  to  any  leading  questions, 
but  to  the  most  formal  and  strict  examination  which  a  Templar 
could  give  to  such  witnesses — that  the  Coracinus  fish  is  found  in 
summer  time  (after  the  month  of  April)  in  the  fountain  of  Muda- 
wara,  but  also  in  that  of  Ain  et-Tin ;  and  that  it  ascends  to  both 

*  “The  Land  and  the  Book,”  p.  354. 

t  “The  Land  of  Israel,”  p.  431.  Lieutenant  (now  Lord)  Kitchener  also  found  it 
there  in  abundance.  P.E.F.Q.S.,  1877,  p.  122. 

J  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  368. 

§  Tristram,  “  The  Land  of  Israel,”  p.  431.  Macgregor,  “  Rob  Roy  on  the 
Jordan,”  p.  369.  ||  "  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  369. 

If  “  The  Land  and  the  Book,”  p.  354. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


284 

of  these  from  the  lake,  where  it  is  always  found,  but  in  the  colder 
months  only  beside  the  hot  springs  of  Bethsaida  (Ain  Tabigha). 
Thither  I  rode  at  once  to  see  further  into  the  matter,  and  spent 
some  hours  on  horseback,  splashing  among  the  tepid  streams.  At 
last  in  the  lake  itself,  and  just  at  the  spot  the  men  indicated — that 
is,  where  the  waters  are  warmed  by  the  heated  rivulet — I  noticed 
one  of  the  fish  in  question  darting  out  of  the  shallows  of  the  warm 
sand,  and  a  few  yards  off  burrowing  until  its  body  and  even  its  long 
tail  were  hidden  again.”  * 

This  evidence  goes  to  show  that  the  “  producing  ”  of  the  Coracin 
fish  is  not  a  distinguishing  mark  which  will  enable  us  to  pronounce 
with  certainty  upon  one  spring  more  than  another.  At  the  same 
time  it  perhaps  gives  a  slight  preference  in  favour  of  Ain  T&bigha, 
inasmuch  as  while  the  fish  is  found  only  in  the  summer  at  some 
fountains,  it  is  found  at  all  times  of  the  year  at  the  mouth  of  Ain 
Tabigha.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  worth  noting  that  Josephus  does  not 
say  that  the  Coracinus  is  found  in  the  stream  Capharnaum,  but  that 
the  stream  “  produces  ”  it,  and  that  the  unusual  abundance  of  fish 
round  about  the  mouth  of  the  warm  streams  of  Tabigha  has  been 
noticed  by  several  travellers. j* 

The  upshot,  then,  of  the  full  facts  about  the  Coracinus  is  to  destroy 
the  preference  which  the  Round  Fountain  at  first  received  on 
account  of  Tristram’s  discovery,  and  to  restore  the  question  very 
nearly  to  the  position  where  the  irrigation-argument  left  it — namely, 
Rabadiyeh  and  Tabigha  as  alternatives  for  the  Fountain  of  Caper¬ 
naum — though  Tabigha  may  now  perhaps  be  considered  to  have  a 
slight  advantage. 

That  is,  perhaps,  as  far  as  we  can  get  with  the  evidence  at  present 
before  us.  It  will  now  be  necessary  to  ascertain  whether,  associated 
with  any  of  the  streams  which  have  been  mentioned,  and  especially 
with  the  two  which  have  been  selected  as  answering  to  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  Josephus,  any  ruins  exist  which  may  possibly  have  been  those 
of  the  town  of  Capernaum. 

*  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  pp.  369,  370. 

t  See  especially  Macgregor,  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  345.  Kitchener,  how¬ 
ever,  found  numbers  of  fish  in  the  octagonal  reservoir  itself,  and  saw  no  reason  why 
the  Coracinus  should  not  be  there.  P.E.F.Q.S.,  1877,  p.  124.  See  “  Encycl.  Bibl.,” 
“  Fish,”  on  the  migration  of  members  of  this  species  up  small  and  dwindling  streams, 
traversing  stretches  where  the  water  is  insufficient  to  cover  them,  or  is  absent 
altogether. 


APPENDIX  D 


285 


Part  II.  The  Town  Capernaum. 

1.  The  Search  for  Ruins. 

The  preceding  argument,  if  it  favours  the  identification  of  either 
Ain  Tabigha  or  Wadi  Rabadiyeh  with  the  Fountain  of  Capharnaum 
mentioned  by  Josephus,  is  yet  hardly  so  conclusive  as  to  make  the 
search  for  ruins  on  the  banks  of  the  streams  of  Gennesaret  altogether 
superfluous. 

Taking  the  streams,  then,  in  the  order  which  we  have  hitherto 
followed,  we  come  first  to  the  Wadi  el-Hamam.  The  banks  of  this 
stream  were  followed  up  the  Wadi  for  several  miles  by  Mr.  J.  Mac- 
gregor,  “  but  without  any  discovery  of  art  employed,  or  even  of 
much  masonry.”*  The  next  spring,  the  Ain  Mudawarah,  has 
received  a  good  deal  of  attention  on  account  of  the  Coracinus  having 
been  found  in  it.  Robinson,  to  his  great  disappointment,  found 
“  nothing  which  could  indicate  that  any  town  or  village  had  ever 
occupied  the  spot.”  |  Dr.  Tristram  found  “  only  the  faintest  traces 
of  other  ruins  ”  near  the  basin  of  the  spring.^  Sir  Charles  Wilson 
found  there  “no  ruins  of  consequence.” §  Only  Macgregor  thinks 
that  the  remains  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  fountain,  il  though 
not  distinct,”  might  possibly  be  the  vestiges  of  Capernaum. 

The  Rabadiyeh  stream,  more  important  as  an  irrigator,  has  no 
ruins  upon  its  banks. |]  On  a  slight  eminence  on  the  north  side 
Robinson  found  the  remains  of  a  village,  but  “  no  traces  of  antiquity, 
no  hewn  stones  nor  any  mason  work.” IF  The  same  place,  however, 
was  examined  by  Captain  Wilson,  who  held  that  the  existing  houses 
were  built  “  on  the  debris  of  an  ancient  village  or  town.”**  But  the 
spot  is  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  lake-side,  quite  isolated 
from  any  other  traces  of  habitations,  and  no  one  has  claimed  for  it 
the  honours  of  Capernaum.  On  the  whole,  Wadi  Rabadiyeh  must, 
I  think,  retire  from  the  contest. 

The  Wadi  el-Amfid,  which  comes  next  in  order,  has  near  it  a 
single  limestone  column,  “  lying  alone  in  the  plain,  some  twenty 
feet  long,  and  at  least  two  feet  in  diameter.”  This  solitary  column 
is  something  of  an  enigma,  but  the  solution  cannot  be  “  Capernaum,” 

*  “Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  367.  The  author  appears  to  have  confused  the 
Ain  el-Amud  with  the  Wadi  el-Hamam,  but  it  is  evidently  the  latter  which  he 
followed. 

t  “  Biblical  Researches,”  iii.  p.  284.  J  “  The  Land  of  Israel,”  p.  423. 

§  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  352. 

||  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  367.  U  “  Biblical  Researches,”  p.  285. 

**  Lieutenant  Kitchener  reported  (P.E.F.Q.S.,  1877,  p.  122)  “  no  remains  of 
importance  to  be  seen ;  only  a  few  basalt  huts  and  some  scattered  stones.” 


286  TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 

for  the  travellers  “  could  discern  no  trace  of  any  site  or  ruins  in  the 
vicinity.” 

We  seem  shut  up,  then,  so  far  as  Gennesaret  is  concerned,  to  the 
ruins  near  to  Ain  et-Tin,  known  as  el-Minyeh. 


2.  Tell  Hum  in  relation  to  the  Fountain. 

But  here,  as  all  the  world  knows,  another  claimant  has  to  be 
heard.  Two  and  a  half  miles  to  the  north-east  of  Khan  Minyeh  lie 
the  ruins  of  Tell  Htim.  They  are  (or  were)  the  most  considerable 
ruins  on  the  lake-shore;  and,  though  Tell  Hflm  itself  has  neither 
fountain  nor  stream,  the  question  has  arisen  whether  its  distance 
from  Ain  Tabigha  is  too  great  for  it  to  have  been  called  by  an 
identical  name.  The  controversy,  in  short,  as  to  the  site  of 
Capernaum  has  of  late  years  almost  entirely  resolved  itself  into  a 
question  between  Minyeh  and  Tell  Hflm. 

So  long  as  Ain  Tabigha  was  regarded  as  cut  off  from  Gennesaret, 
both  stream  and  town  were  more  naturally  looked  for  to  the  south 
of  the  Tell  el-Oreimeh,  or  Rock  of  Minyeh ;  but  now  that  it  has  been 
shown  that  Ain  Tabigha  probably  watered  the  plain,  and  may  there¬ 
fore  be  the  spring  Capernaum,  we  are  free  to  look  for  the  site  of 
Capernaum  town  on  either  side  of  that  stream. 

So  far  as  the  proximity  of  the  spring  is  concerned,  Minyeh  has 
a  distinct  advantage,  for  it  is  less  than  a  mile  from  the  source,  and  a 
main  part  of  the  stream  actually  flowed  in  all  probability  through 
the  old  town,  while  Tell  Hflm  has  no  such  direct  contact  with  the 
stream,  and  is  nearly  two  miles  distant  from  both  stream  and 
source.  This  distance  can,  however,  hardly  be  considered  fatal  to 
the  claim  of  Tell  Hflm  if  in  other  respects  it  has  a  clear  case  in  its 
favour. 

3.  Was  Capernaum  in  Gennesaret? 

One  point  that  is  urged  on  behalf  of  Minyeh  is  that  Capernaum 
lay  on  or  near  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret.  Josephus,  however,  does 
not  say  so,  neither  can  the  Gospels  be  made  to  say  so  except  by  a 
comparison  depending  on  the  order  of  events  and  by  a  topographical 
inference  ;  and  we  have  no  other  evidence.  Dr.  Robinson  depends 
upon  these  Gospel  proofs  in  favour  of  Minyeh,*  while  Wilson 
uses  them  in  support  of  Tell  Htim.f  We  have  seen  in  studying  the 
Bethsaida  question  how  difficult  and  hazardous  these  inferences  from 
the  order  of  the  Gospel  story  are.  The  argument  for  Capernaum 
being  in  Gennesaret  has  been  summed  up  by  Lightfoot,^  and  to 


*  “  Biblical  Researches,”  vol.  iii.  p.  289.  f  “  Lands  of  the  Bible,”  vol.  ii.  p.  145. 
t  “  Cent.  Chorograph.,”  ch.  Ixxx.,  cited  by  Tristram,  “  Land  of  Israel,”  p.  429. 


APPENDIX  D 


287 

that  authority  we  may  refer  the  reader  who  cares  to  depend  upon 
this  class  of  evidence.  For  ourselves  we  prefer  to  pass  on  to  such 
characteristics  of  the  town  as  may  be  gleaned  from  the  Gospel  state¬ 
ments  without  dependence  upon  the  chronological  or  topographical 
sequence  of  the  history. 

4.  u  Capharnaum  ”  was  a  7t6\ls. 

In  the  first  place,  it  has  been  urged  that  Capernaum  was  a 
“  village,”  and  that  this  agrees  better  with  Tell  Hfim,  which  was 
unwalled,  than  with  Minyeh,  the  city  wall  of  which  place  has  been 
excavated.*  The  name  “Capharnaum,”  it  is  argued,  means  village 
(kephar)  of  Nahum;  also,  when  Josephus  was  wounded  and  carried 
thither  he  described  it  as  a  village  (/,-&>/x?7).j- 

The  reverse  argument  has  also  been  set  forth — namely,  that 
we  learn  from  Matthew  ix.  1  ( els  rfjv  Wav  ttoKlv)  and  Mark  i.  33 
(0X77  77  7 roXt?)  and  other  passages,  that  Capernaum  was  regarded  as  a 
“  city,”  and  that  it  was  a  place  with  a  synagogue,  a  Roman  garrison, 
a  customs  station,  and  a  harbour ;  in  fact,  a  place  of  some  import¬ 
ance.  This  agrees,  say  some,  better  with  Minyeh,  a  walled  place, 
than  with  Tell  Hfim,  an  unwalled.  Nay,  reply  others,  it  agrees 
better  with  Tell  Hfim,  a  place  with  ruins  of  considerable  extent, 
than  with  Minyeh,  where  the  ruins  are  unimportant. 

Here  we  have  a  double  confusion,  first  as  to  the  fact,  and  second, 
as  to  the  inference.  What,  then,  was  the  fact  of  the  matter  ?  Was 
Capernaum  a  “  town  ”  or  a  “village  ”? 

So  far  as  concerns  the  word  “  Capharnaum,”  nothing  surely  ought 
to  be  inferred  from  that.  Such  a  name  is,  of  course,  traditional ; 
and  that  which  was  a  village  when  the  name  was  given  might  well 
have  become  a  city  in  Roman  times  without  losing  or  altering  its 
appellation.  St.  Martin’s  does  not  now  stand  “  in  the  fields,” 
neither  is  Long  Acre  in  any  sense  an  “  acre.”  And  as  to  the  story 
of  Josephus,  it  raises  this  double  doubt :  First,  that  we  are  far  from 
certain  that  it  was  to  Capernaum  he  was  carried ;  for,  the  name  of 
the  place  was  Cepharnomon  (tce^apviofiojv),  or,  according  to  another 
and  more  authoritative  reading,  Cepharnokon  (Ke^apvuKov),  and  it  is 
a  mere  guess  that  he  means  by  this  Capernaum.  And,  secondly, 
that  if  he  did,  no  dependence  can  be  placed  upon  his  “  100/^7,”  for  he 
calls  Arbela  a  “village”  both  before  and  after  he  had  fortified  it, J 
while  elsewhere  he  calls  the  same  place  a  “  city  ”  §  ;  similarly,  Euse¬ 
bius,  Jerome,  and  Epiphanius  call  Capernaum  both  “  town  ”  and 
«  village.”  ||  The  fact,  therefore,  that  Minyeh  had  a  city  wall,  while 

*  Tristram,  “  The  Land  of  Israel,”  third  edition,  p.  430.  +  "  Life,”  71-73. 

+  “  Life.”  Cf.  sects.  37  and  60.  §  “Ant.,”  xii.  xi.,  1. 

||  Keim,  “Jesus  of  Nazara”  (English  translation),  li.  p.  367. 


288 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Tell  Hfim  shows  no  trace  of  one,  tells  neither  one  way  nor  the 
other,  except  in  so  far  as  it  may  show  that  Minyeh,  as  well  as  Tell 
Hum,  has  at  some  period  of  its  history  been  a  place  of  some 
importance. 

The  truth  would  appear  to  be  that  Capernaum  lay  on  the  border 
line  between  “  town  ”  and  “  village.”  In  size  it  did  not,  of  course, 
compare  with  such  cities  as  Hebron,  Caesarea,  or  Shechem ;  and  to 
Josephus,  who  moved  in  the  great  world,  it  may  well  have  appeared 
to  be  little  more  than  a  “village.”  It  was,  however,  in  New  Testa¬ 
ment  times  ot  sufficient  importance  to  be  called  a  7t6\ls,  and  to  have 
a  centurion  stationed  there.  In  short,  the  question  whether  walled 
or  unwalled  is  not  of  importance ;  but  it  does  become  incumbent 
upon  those  who  argue  in  favour  of  any  particular  site  to  show  that 
the  ruins  on  that  site  are  not  entirely  insignificant.  On  this  general 
question,  then,  of  the  extent  of  the  ruins,  we  may  briefly  take  the 
evidence  of  travellers. 

As  to  Tell  Hfim,  most  observers  are  agreed  that  the  ruins  there 
are  extensive.  At  a  favourable  time  of  year,  when  the  rank  growth 
does  not  obscure  the  remains,  the  traces  of  the  town  can  be  seen  (so 
it  is  said)  to  cover  a  space  measuring  half  a  mile  in  length  by  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  breadth.  But  the  ruins  of  Minyeh  are  described 
by  Sir  Charles  Wilson  as  “  covering  an  extent  of  ground  small  in 
comparison  with  those  of  Tell  Hum  or  Kerazeh”*;  and  Robinson, 
on  his  first  visit  to  the  place,  wrote  :  “  The  few  remains  seemed  to 
be  mostly  dwellings  of  no  very  remote  date;  but  there  was  not 
enough  to  make  out  anything  with  certainty.”  t 

On  a  second  visit,  however,  made  in  1852,  Robinson  altered  his 
opinion.  “The  remains,”  he  writes,  “are  strewed  around  in  shape¬ 
less  heaps  :  but  are  much  more  extensive  and  considerable  than  my 
former  impression  had  led  me  to  anticipate.  Indeed,  there  are  here 
remains  enough  not  only  to  warrant,  but  to  require  the  hypothesis 
of  a  large  ancient  place.”  J  Dr.  Tristram  says  :  “  On  the  other  side 
of  [the  marsh  formed  by  the  stream  from  Ain  et-Tin]  near  the  water 
are  the  traces,  rather  than  the  remains,  of  an  extensive  collection  of 
buildings,  an  ancient  city,  now  wholly  ploughed  over.”  §  Dr.  Merrill 
says  :  “  At  Khan  Minieh  is  a  swell  in  the  plain,  in  which  peasants 
are  digging,  and,  at  a  depth  of  four  to  six  feet,  they  struck  a  finely 
built  wall,  which  they  followed  to  a  depth  of  twelve  feet.  I  do  not 
know  that  they  reached  the  bottom.  They  traced  this  wall  until  it 
turned  an  angle,  and  for  some  distance  after  that.  About  one  mile 
south  of  this  place  is  another  low  mound — a  mere  swell  on  the 

*  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  350. 

f  “  Biblical  Researches,”  vol.  iii.  pp.  287-8. 

X  “  Later  Biblical  Researches,”  p.  345. 

§  “The  Land  of  Israel,”  third  edition,  p.  425. 


APPENDIX  D 


289 

surface  of  the  plain — over  which  a  person  might  ride  without  noticing 
that  it  was  not  a  part  of  the  common  field.  Here  also  I  found  signs 
of  a  buried  town.”  *  Lieutenant  (now  Lord)  Kitchener  also  reported 
to  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  in  1877,  that  there  were  “exten¬ 
sive  ruins  ”  there,  and  that  he  “  was  informed  by  two  authorities  that 
hewn  stones  and  good  walls  existed  below  the  present  surface,  and 
are  excavated  for  building  purposes.”  + 

To  the  foregoing  my  own  observations,  such  as  they  are,  may  be 
added.  I  examined  only  one  group  of  ruins.  At  a  distance  of  400 
yards  to  the  north  of  the  khan  were  a  pile  of  masonry  and  a  stretch 
of  broken  wall  standing  well  up  from  the  plain,  and  consisting  of 
roughish  blocks  of  stone  joined  by  hard  cement.  The  nether  stone 
of  a  large  oil-press  lay  twenty  yards  south-east  by  south  of  this  cen¬ 
tral  ruin.  One  hundred  yards  west  of  this  mass  of  masonry  is 
another  very  similar  mass,  and  144  yards  to  the  east  is  an  oval 
hollowed  stone  standing  on  its  end,  the  longer  diameter  measuring 
three  feet.  Between  this  stone  and  the  central  point  first  mentioned 
are  distinct  mounds,  too  stony  for  ploughing,  and  containing  squared 
blocks,  some  of  which  measured  3  feet  by  1  foot.  The  whole 
breadth,  therefore,  of  the  visible  ruins  from  west  to  east  was  244 
yards ;  beyond  these  limits  I  saw  no  traces  of  buildings.  The  limit 
to  the  south  seemed  to  be  the  dry  bed  of  a  stream,  which  crossed 
the  path  120  yards  from  the  same  point  of  measurement. 

The  whole  area  of  these  ruins  was,  I  suppose,  not  more  than  five 
or  six  acres.  But  the  ruins  which  Tristram  describes  are  evidently 
situated  much  nearer  to  the  shore ;  and  Robinson  also  describes 
the  ruins  as  “  extending  down  to  the  little  bay  along  the  shore,”  J 
observations  which  greatly  extend  the  area  of  the  ancient  town ;  and 
to  these  remains  we  must  add  the  ruins  upon  the  hill  mentioned 
by  Schumacher,  Wilson,  Merrill,  and  others,  of  which  we  shall  pre¬ 
sently  have  to  speak  more  particularly.  So  that,  without  including 
the  mound  described  by  Merrill,  which  lay  “  a  mile  to  the  south,”  or 
any  possible  extension  of  the  city  on  the  Tabigha  side  of  the  rock, 
we  have  traces  of  a  town  comparable  in  size  with  that  which  stood 
at  Tell  Hfim. 

At  Tell  Hfim,  when  the  thicket  of  thistles  has  died  down,  the 
foundations  of  the  houses  on  the  bare  stony  slope  may  no  doubt  be 
easily  seen,  while  at  Minyeh  they  are  for  the  most  part  buried  in  the 
deep  rich  soil  of  the  place,  and  the  plough  has  passed  over  the  greater 
part  of  the  city;  but  that  a  city  stood  there,  and  one  of  sufficient 
importance  to  answer  to  the  hints  of  its  [character  given  in  the 
Gospels,  cannot  certainly  be  doubted.  These  hints  we  must  now 

*  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  301.  +  "P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1877,  p.  122. 

X  “  Later  Biblical  Researches,”  p.  345. 

T 


290  TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 

examine  and  see  with  which  of  the  two  places  they  more  nearly 
correspond. 

5 .  It  had  a  Roman  Garrison. 

Tiie  first  hint  is  given  by  the  mention  of  the  centurion  who  was 
stationed  at  Capernaum  (Matt.  viii.  5,  and  Luke  vii.  2),  which  im¬ 
plies  that  it  was  a  place  with  a  Roman  garrison.  Now  Minyeh  has 
the  ruins  of  a  castle  on  the  “  bold  bluff  ”  which  overlooks  the  town. 
It  is  called  Khurbet  el-Oreimeh,  and  was  built,  no  doubt,  to  com¬ 
mand  the  pass  round  the  lake,  the  great  caravan  route  to  Damascus, 
and  the  road  to  the  Mediterranean.  This  ruined  castle  is  mentioned 
by  Thomson,*  Merrill, f  Kitchener,!  and  other  explorers.  Tell 
Hfim,  on  the  other  hand,  has  “  no  remains  of  a  garrison,”  §  and  no 
particular  need  of  one. 


6.  And  a  Customs  Station. 

The  second  hint  is  given  by  the  mention  of  Levi,  the  son  of 
Alphseus,  sitting  at  the  place  of  toll  (Matt.  ix.  9,  Mark  ii.  14, 
Luke  v.  27).  We  infer  from  this  that  Capernaum  had  a  customs 
station,  and  it  was  presumably,  therefore,  on  one  of  the  great  com¬ 
mercial  routes.  Now  the  great  caravan  road  to  Damascus  passes 
Khan  Minyeh,  but  does  not  pass  Tell  Htim.  The  route,  as  given 
by  Socin,  is  as  follows.  After  leaving  Mejdel,  “it  keeps  by  the 
shore  only  for  a  short  distance.  Having  traversed  the  small  plain 
of  Gennesar,  it  begins  again  to  climb  the  mountains  where  they 
approach  the  lake  at  Khan  Minyeh  .  .  .  and  then  it  goes  on  to  Khan 
Jubb  Ytisuf,  strikes  down  again  into  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  and 
crossing  the  river  at  Jisr  Benat  Ya’kub,  holds  on  across  Jebel  Hish 
to  Damascus.”  ||  Professor  G.  A.  Smith  describes  this  as  the  route 
followed  “from  the  earliest  times”;  Robinson,**  Wilson,]-]* 
Merrill,!!  Burckhardt,§  §  Sepp, ||||  Keim,Tj*f[  all  agree  that  this  impor¬ 
tant  commercial  highway  turned  up  the  mountains  at  Khan  Minyeh, 
and  did  not  pass  through  Tell  Hfim. 

This  was  the  great  Via  Maris,  or  Way  of  the  Sea,***  to  which  allu¬ 
sion  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  made  by  the  Evangelist  Matthew ; 
“  He  came  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum  .  .  .  [by]  the  Way  of  the  Sea  ” 

*  “  The  Land  and  the  Book,”  p.  350.  f  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  457. 

t  “  P.E.F.Q.S  ,”  1877,  p.  123.  See  also  Mr.  Brass  in  “  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1890,  p.  178. 

§  Merrill,  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  458. 

||  “  Encycl.  Bibl.,”  “Palestine,”  sec.  20.  U  “  Hist.  Geog.,”  pp.  426-7. 

**  ”  Biblical  Researches,”  vol.  iii.  p.  296.  ff  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  386. 

++  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  457.  “Here  the  Roman  road,  coming  from  the  south, 
touched  the  lake,  and  can  still  be  traced.”  §§  Vol.  ii.  558,  cited  by  Keim. 

1111  Vol.  ii.  i9of,  cited  by  Keim.  IT IT  “Jesus  of  Nazara,”  English  translation,  ii.  369. 

***  Edersheim,  “Jesus  the  Messiah,”  vol.  i.  p.  147.  Schumacher  in  “P.E.F.Q.S.,” 
1889,  p.  78. 


APPENDIX  D 


291 

(Matthew  iv.  15).  That,  however,  is  a  somewhat  forced  interpre¬ 
tation  ;  but  what  is  important  to  note  is  that  Capernaum  was  a 
customs  station,  and  that  Khan  Minyeh  was  situated  at  a  point  where 
three  branches  of  the  great  caravan-road  gathered  into  one,  and 
entering  the  narrow  valley  with  no  other  issue,  struck  up  the  moun¬ 
tains  away  from  the  lake-shore.  A  more  convenient  place  for  col¬ 
lecting  customs  both  from  land  and  lake  could  not  be  imagined.  Sir 
Charles  Wilson,  although  he  always  held  to  Tell  Hfim,  admitted  in 
the  passage  cited  above  that  “the  Roman  road  from  Tiberias  to 
Damascus  certainly  left  the  lake  at  Khan  Minyeh,  and  struck  up  over 
the  hills  to  Khan  Jubb  Yusuf;  and  if  Capernaum  was  situated  on 
this,  it  would  at  once  decide  the  question  in  favour  of  Khan  Minyeh.” 

The  points  urged  against  this  view  are  that  there  is  no  direct 
evidence  that  the  road  ran  through  Capernaum,  and  that  the  tolls 
which  Levi  was  collecting  may  only  have  been  town  tolls. *  Both 
of  which  positions  may  be  admitted ;  but,  as  the  whole  argument 
must  necessarily  depend  upon  the  cumulative  force  of  several  pro¬ 
babilities,  the  situation  of  Minyeh  upon  the  great  highway  remains 
an  important  element  in  the  problem.  It  must  be  estimated  in 
contrast  with  the  fact  that  Tell  Hftm  “is  two  or  more  miles  from 
the  Roman  road  on  which  the  custom-house  where  Matthew  was 
would  naturally  be.”  f 


7.  It  had  a  Synagogue. 

The  next  indication  which  we  gather  from  the  Gospels  is  that 
Capernaum  had  a  synagogue,  built  for  the.  town  by  the  centurion 
who  was  stationed  there.  This  is  a  point  which  has  been  much 
insisted  upon  in  favour  of  Tell  Hfim  ever  since  the  celebrated  White 
Synagogue  was  discovered  there.  Nothing,  it  is  true,  is  told  us  as 
to  the  beauty  of  the  synagogue  which  the  centurion  built,  but  there 
is  something  attractive  in  the  idea  of  Jesus  preaching  in  that  marble 
building  on  the  open  sunny  shore  at  Tell  Hiim,  which  holds  the 
imagination  and  gives  a  greater  weight  to  the  existence  of  these 
beautiful  fragments  than  it  deserves  for  the  purposes  of  the  argument; 
in  a  city  of  the  size  of  Minyeh  there  must  also  have  been  a  syna¬ 
gogue,  but  it  is  buried  and  we  have  never  seen  it. 

The  fatal  objection  to  the  White  Synagogue  of  Tell  Htim  being 
that  which  the  centurion  built  is,  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  best 
authorities,  it  dates  only  from  the  second  century  a.d.  Colonel 
Conder  says  that  it  “  seems  probably  (by  comparison  with  those  at 
Meirftn)  to  be  the  work  of  Simeon  Bar  Jochai,  the  Cabalist,  who 

*  Smith,  "  Dictionary  of  Bible,”  “Capernaum.” 
t  Merrill,  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  458. 


292 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


lived  about  120  a.d.”  * * * §  That  is  a  time  at  which  Judaism  was 
flourishing  in  Galilee.  The  Sanhedrin  then  had  its  seat  at  Tiberias. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  city  which  now  lies  ruined 
at  Tell  Hfim  is  not  a  Scriptural  city  at  all — neither  Bethsaida,  nor 
Chorazin,  nor  Capernaum — but  a  place  which  took  its  rise  under 
Jewish  auspices  in  the  second  century  of  our  era.f 


8.  It  probably  had  a  Harbour. 

At  Capernaum  lived  Simon  and  Andrew,  James  and  John,  all  of 
whom  were  fishermen,  and  had  boats  on  the  lake.  Presumably, 
therefore,  it  had  a  harbour,  or  at  least  a  quay.  And  if  the 
Kecbapyoixojv  to  which  Josephus  was  brought,  when  he  was  hurt  in 
the  skirmish  with  the  Romans  on  Butaiha,  was  indeed  Capernaum, 
that  also  would  go  to  show  that  it  was  a  place  with  a  harbour  for 
ships;  for  the  object  of  Josephus  was  to  get  to  Taricheae,  and 
thither  he  was  taken  the  same  night,  which  could  only  have  been 
accomplished  if  he  went  by  water. 

Now,  Minyeh  has  a  harbour  used  even  at  this  day  for  landing 
wood  from  the  east  shore.  J  Under  the  shelter  of  the  jutting  rock 
which  bounds  Gennesaret  and  cuts  off  the  beach  of  Minyeh  from 
the  bay  of  Tabigha  beyond,  there  is  a  pool  still  large  enough  for 
floating  boats,  which  must  have  been  much  larger  before  it  became 
half  choked  by  debris  from  the  cliff  and  by  the  bordering 
marsh.  That  marsh  formed  by  the  earth  brought  down  in 
long  centuries  by  the  little  streams  from  Ain  et-Tin,  now  grows 
a  great  thicket  of  papyrus ;  what  may  be  buried  beneath  the 
matted  roots  of  the  thicket  we  cannot  tell.  Macgregor  paddled 
his  canoe  through  the  still  open  channel  into  this  jungled  pool  and 
searched  it  for  traces  of  buildings,  but  without  success.  Wilson, 
however,  found  “  standing  on  the  lake,  near  the  point  where  the  Ain 
et-Tin  flows  in,”  the  shaft  of  a  small  basaltic  column  five  inches  in 
diameter, §  showing  at  any  rate  that  the  town  extended  to  this  shore, 
and  increasing  the  probability  that  this  bay  was  used  as  its  port. 

In  addition  to  this  harbourage,  let  it  be  taken  into  account  that 
just  on  the  other  side  of  the  rock  lies  the  little  Bay  of  Tabigha, 
which  “is  admirably  suited  for  boats.  It  shelves  gradually,  the 
anchorage  is  good,  and  boats  can  be  safely  beached  .  .  .  the  water 
is  deep,  and  nearly  free  from  boulders  until  near  the  south-west  end.”|| 

*  “Tent-Work,”  p.  295.  See  also  Merrill,  “  East  of  the  Jordan,”  p.  458. 

t  See  “  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1879,  p.  169.  The  “synagogue”  is  now  (1906)  being  re-ex¬ 

cavated,  and  rumour  has  it  that  the  so-called  “  synagogue  ”  is  proving  to  be  a 
Mithraic  temple.  J  Sepp.  pp.  182,  191,  cited  by  Keim  (Eng.  Trans,  vol.  ii.  p.  371). 

§  Wilson,  quoted  by  Macgregor,  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,”  p.  362. 

||  Macgregor,  loc.  cit. 


APPENDIX  D 


293 


It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  if  Capernaum  stood  upon  this  rock  and 
in  the  plains  beneath,  it  was  a  place  well  furnished  with  accommo¬ 
dation  for  shipping  on  either  side  of  its  high  central  point. 

And  now,  how  does  Tell  Hftm  compare  with  this  ?  Dr.  Pococke 
said  that  he  “  could  plainly  observe  a  round  port  for  small  boats.”  * 
But  the  late  Sir  Charles  Wilson,  who  gave  no  mere  passing  glance, 
but  “eagerly  searched  ”  the  shore  for  traces  of  an  artificial  harbour, 
confessed  that  his  search  was  “  without  success  ” ;  and  although  he 
was  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  Tell  Hhm  theory,  admitted  that  “  the 
boats  which  formerly  belonged  to  the  town  must  always  have  taken 
shelter  at  et-Tabigha,  or,  as  is  just  as  probable,  have  been  drawn  up 
on  the  bank  when  not  in  use.”  f  Mr.  Macgregor,  however,  upon 
this  particular  point,  deserves  perhaps  more  attention  than  any 
other  traveller,  since  he  looked  at  the  matter  as  an  expert  in  the 
navigation  of  boats,  and  his  testimony  is  emphatic.  The  nearest 
point  to  Tell  Htim  suitable  for  fishing-boats  to  beach  he  considers 
to  be  the  second  bay  to  the  west.  As  to  Dr.  Pococke’s  “  round 
port  for  small  boats,”  he  declares  it  to  be  no  port  at  all,  but  “a  most 
treacherous  reef”;!  an(^  on  t^ie  whole  question  of  Capernaum  and 
its  harbour,  his  opinion  about  Tell  Hftm  is  as  follows :  u  In  no  part 
about  this  point  is  there  any  proper  place  for  boats.  The  land  is 
too  rocky  to  beach  them  ;  the  water  is  too  shallow  to  moor  them ; 
the  bottom  is  too  stony  to  anchor  them.  There  is  no  protection  here 
from  the  worst  winds,  no  pier,  no  harbour ;  and  where  you  can 
neither  beach,  nor  moor,  nor  anchor  a  boat  in  safety,  how  can  that 
be  the  port  of  a  large  town  ?  ” 

9.  It  is  spoken  of  as  11  exalted  unto  Heaven .” 

The  next  point  is  one  upon  which  I  should  lay  more  stress  than 
many  would  think  that  it  deserves.  In  the  woe  which  Jesus  pro¬ 
nounced  upon  Capernaum  He  seems  to  imply  that  it  stood  in  a 
prominent  and  exalted  position.  To  some§  this  inference  seems  no 
longer  to  hold,  since  the  agreement  of  the  Codex  Sinaiticus  with  the 
Codex  Vaticanus  led  to  the  correction  of  the  text.  The  revised 
version  reads,  “  And  thou,  Capernaum,  shalt  thou  be  exalted  unto 
heaven  ?  ”  and  this  substitution  of  a  question  for  direct  assertion 
is  supposed  to  nullify  the  argument  as  to  the  situation  of  Capernaum. 

To  the  present  writer  a  rhetorical  turn  of  this  kind  seems  to 
diminish  scarcely  at  all  whatever  force  the  argument  ever  had.  The 
passage  still  implies  that  Capernaum  was,  or  thought  itself  to  be, 

*  “Travels  in  the  East,”  Book  I.  ch.  xviii.,  quoted  by  Wilson,  “  Lands  of  the 
Bible,”  ch.  ii.  p.  145  fn.  +  “Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  346. 

+  “  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,"  second  edition,  p.  342. 

§  E.%.,  Sir  Charles  Wilson.  See  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  346. 


294 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


“  exalted  unto  heaven.”  v  That  is  to  say,  it  was  differentiated  from 
the  other  places  mentioned  in  the  context  by  being  literally  or 
figuratively  lifted  up. 

Now,  to  myself  it  seems  much  more  consonant  with  the  method 
of  Jesus’  peasant-teaching  to  suppose  that  He  drew  His  lesson  from 
something  which  appealed  to  the  eye,  than  to  suppose  that  He  used 
a  rather  far-fetched  metaphor  to  indicate  a  spiritual  or  municipal 
pride  which  there  is  no  particular  reason  for  supposing  that  Caper¬ 
naum  ever  felt.  Of  two  places,  one  of  which  lay  upon  a  gradually 
shelving  shore,  and  the  other  stood  upon  a  lofty  cliff,  it  would 
seem  natural  to  me  to  suppose  that  the  allusion  was  to  the  latter. 

This  consideration  ought,  I  think,  to  tell  rather  more  strongly  than 
it  does  with  some  in  favour  of  Minyeh.  The  ruins  of  Minyeh  are 
found  not  only  upon  the  plain  to  the  south  of  the  cliff,  but  on  the 
mountain-side  above.  It  is  even  possible  that  the  ruins  called 
Khurbet  Khureibeh,  which  stand  upon  the  hills  above  et-Tabigha, 
were  connected  with  the  ancient  city.  But,  without  insisting  upon 
this,  the  remains  of  the  old  castle,  Khurbet  el-Oreimeh,  already  referred 
to,  and  some  few  other  remains  which  exist  in  its  neighbourhood,  are 
sufficient  to  show  that  the  city  which  clustered  beneath  the  cliff, 
between  the  mountain  and  the  lake,  looked  up  to  an  acropolis  upon 
the  rocky  mountain-side,  which  would  be  visible  from  far  and  near.* 

This  would  account  for  the  phrase  used  by  Sanderson  in  the 
description  of  Minyeh  already  quoted,  wherein  he  says  that  it  “  is 
over  the  point  of  land.”  f  Indeed,  taking  all  things  into  considera¬ 
tion,  the  ruins  on  the  hill,  the  ruins  in  the  plain  near  the  Khan,  the 
ruins  near  the  harbour,  the  fact  that  probably  part  of  the  existing 
aqueducts  at  Tabigha  and  certainly  the  octagonal  reservoir,  are 
Roman,  and  that  tesserae  have  been  picked  up  along  the  little  bay 
on  that  same  side  of  the  Minyeh  cliff,  J  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 
ancient  town  which  stood  here  included  :  A  castle  on  the  hill, 
commanding  the  caravan  road,  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret,  the  Bay  of 
Tabigha  and  the  Lake  ;  grouped  around  this,  other  buildings  for 
Roman  and  civil  officers ;  a  custom-house  situated  where  the 
caravan-road  turns  up  the  mountain,  possibly  near  the  spot  where 
the  old  Khan  stands  now;  a  residential  quarter  built  on  the  plain 
to  the  south  of  the  cliff,  but  climbing  the  mountain-side  toward  the 
castle  j  a  sheltered  port  close  under  the  cliff ;  a  manufacturing 
suburb  on  the  north  of  the  dividing-rock,  where  at  the  present  day 
the  great  Tabigha  spring  rushes  down  and  the  broken  aqueducts 

*  See  Wilson,  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  351  ;  Schumacher,  “Zeitschr.  des  Deut* 
Palaest.,”  vol.  xiii.  70,  cited  by  G.  A.  Smith,  “Hist.  Geog.,”  p.  457  fn.,-  H.  Brass, 
“  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1890,  pp.  178,  179  ;  Merrill,  “  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1891,  p.  75. 

t  “  Purchas  His  Pilgrimes,”  Part  II.  p.  1635. 

+  H.  Brass,  “  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1890,  p.  180. 


APPENDIX  D 


295 

stand  ;  and  above  this  the  octagonal  reservoir  with  the  southern 
aqueduct  leading  away  to  the  rock-cut  channel,  through  which  the 
water  rushes  in  a  full  stream  to  be  carried  on  arches  through  the 
town  and  across  the  northern  half  of  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret.  Such 
a  town  would  fit  the  Bible  story  well. 

There  is  one  other  desideratum  which  the  town  thus  pictured 
supplies,  but  which  the  site  at  Tell  Htim  seems  to  leave  quite 
unsatisfied  : 

10.  “  The  Mountain  ”  behind  Capernaum . 

Seeing  the  multitudes  He  went  up  into  the  mountain  (Matt.  v.  1). 
“  He  goeth  up  into  the  mountain ,  and  calleth  unto  Him  whom  He 
Himself  would  ”  (Mark  iii.  13  ;  Luke  vi.  12).  “  And  when  He  was 

come  down  from  the  mountain — there  came  a  leper  and  worshipped 
Him”  (Matt.  viii.  1).  These  incidents  are  all  definitely  assigned  to 
Capernaum,  and  probably  those  narrated  in  Matt.  xiv.  23;  xv.  29  ; 
Mark  vi.  46  and  other  passages  belong  to  the  same  place.  The 
phrase  is,  as  given  in  the  Revised  Version,  “  the  mountain,”  not 
“  a  mountain.”  Here,  then,  we  have  evidence  of  the  proximity  of  a 
mountain  to  the  town.  Some  definite,  well-known  height  close  by 
Capernaum  afforded  a  place  of  quiet  retreat  for  Jesus  and  His 
disciples.  At  Tell  Hfim  there  is  no  such  height.  The  long 
gradual  stony  slope  leads  by  a  wearisome  journey  to  distant  hill¬ 
tops,  but  there  is  nothing  that  could  by  any  stretch  of  language  be 
called  “  the  mountain.”  If  the  term  were  used  in  that  neighbour¬ 
hood,  it  would  be  immediately  met  by  the  question  “which 
mountain  ?  ” ;  but  at  Khan  Minyeh  “  the  mountain  ”  is  definite  and 
unmistakable.  There  it  is,  starting  forth  from  the  general  range, 
and  bathing  its  foot  in  the  very  waters  of  the  lake.  As  we  rowed  up 
and  down  the  lake,  I  bore  this  point  in  mind;  and,  again  and 
again  it  struck  me  how  well  the  phrase  fitted,  and  how  impossible  it 
was  to  fit  it  to  any  other  place  along  this  shore. 

11.  The  Philological  Argument. 

At  this  point  one  feels  almost  at  a  loss  to  know  why  the  Tell  Hfim 
site  has  been  defended  so  ardently  by  some  New  Testament 
geographers.  For  this  ardour  the  White  Synagogue  is  partly 
responsible.  I  was  myself  taught  in  childhood  to  picture  Caper¬ 
naum  stretched  along  the  open  and  sunny  shore  at  Tell  Hfim  with 
the  marble  synagogue  gleaming  in  its  midst ;  and  I  know  from 
experience  how  difficult  such  a  picture  once  formed  is  to  dislodge 
from  the  mind.  But  to  this  must  no  doubt  be  added  the  weight 
which  the  philological  argument  has  carried,  and  to  that  argument 
we  must  briefly  advert. 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


296 

The  name  Tell  Hftm,  it  has  been  maintained,  contains  within  it  a 
remnant  of  the  name  Capernaum.  When  Caphar  Nahum,  the 
village  of  Nahum,  fell  to  ruin,  the  Arab  changed  “  Caphar,”  the 
village,  to  “Tell,” a  mound  of  ruins;  then  followed  the  loss  of  the 
first  syllable  in  Nahum,  and  so  the  name  Tell  Htim  was  arrived  at. 

In  answer  to  this  hypothesis  it  is  denied  that  such  a  process  as 
dropping  the  first  syllable  can  possibly  take  place.  Prof.  George 
Adam  Smith  speaks  of  “  Hftm  ”  as  an  “  impossible  contraction.”  * 
Robinson  f  and  Conder  J  say  that  it  is  possible,  but  extremely 
unlikely.  Thomson  §  and  Wilson  ||  argue  for  it  and  give  analogies. 
However  this  may  be,  the  fatal  objection  remains  that  there  is  no 
“  tell  ”  at  the  place.  “  Tell  ”  does  not  mean  merely  a  ruin,  it 
means  a  mound,  and  the  mound  is  wanting.  Now  the  Talmuds 
mention  a  Caphar  Tanhum,  Tanhumin  or  Tchfimin,T[  and  Prof.  G. 
A.  Smith  considers  that  Guerin  was  right  when  he  pronounced  the 
name  Tell  Hftm  to  be  simply  a  corruption  of  Tanhum,  the  place 
where  Rabbi  Tanchum  was  buried.**  But  Colonel  Conder  would 
seem  to  have  proved  thirty  years  ago  that  this  Caphar  Tanchum  of 
the  Talmuds  was  the  Crusading  Capernaum  on  the  Mediterranean 
coast,  and  identical  with  Tantura  or  with  Kefr  Lam  not  far  from 
there.ff 

Another  attempt  to  account  for  the  name  is  that  which  identifies 
Tell  Hftm  with  “  the  ancient  Tellum,”  called  by  Josephus  Thella, 
being  the  village  to  which  Josephus  measured  the  breadth  of  Lower 
Galilee  from  Meroth  on  the  West.Jj;  If  this  derivation  is  accepted, 
it  answers  the  question  which  is  often  (though  not  very  reasonably) 
asked,  “  If  Tell  Hhm  is  not  Capernaum,  what  is  it  ?  ” 

As  to  Minyeh  it  is  supposed  by  many  to  be  derived  from  Minim  or 
sorcerers,  a  nickname  which  was  applied  to  those  Jews  who  had 
become  Christians.  In  the  Talmud  the  term  Huta,  sinners,  is  used 
as  an  equivalent  for  the  word  Minim,  and  the  same  term  Huta  is 
elsewhere  defined  as  “  sons  of  Caphar  Nahum.”  From  this  it  is 
inferred  that  Capernaum  was  looked  upon  as  the  head  quarters  of 
the  Minim  or  Jewish  Christians.  This  receives  some  confirmation 
from  the  fact  that  Isaac  Chelo,  who  saw  the  ruins  of  Caphar  Nahum 
in  1334,  remarks  incidentally,  “  Here  formerly  dwelt  the  Minim.”  §§ 

*  “  Hist.  Geog.,”  p.  456  fn.  f  “  Later  Biblical  Researches,  p.  354  fn. 

X  “  Tent-Work,”  p.  293  §  “  The  Land  and  the  Book,”  p.  354. 

||  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  386.  if  Smith,  D.  B.,  art.  “Capernaum.” 

**  “  Hist.  Geog.,”  p.  456  fn. 

ft  Colonel  Conder  finally  settles  on  Kefr  Lam,  but  that  village  is  barely  two  miles 
from  Tantura,  which  Colonel  Conder  first  advocated,  and  the  name  of  the  latter  looks 
as  though  it  might  be  akin  to  Tanchum.  See  “  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1875,  p.  90  ;  1876,  p.  17. 

++  Schwartz,  p.  70,  quoted  by  Macgregor,  p.  389  fn. 

§§  Conder,  “  Tent-Work,”  p.  293  ;  G.  A  Smith,  “  Hist.  Geog.,”  p.  456  fn.  ;  Keim, 
“Jesus  of  Nazara,”  vol.  ii.,  p.  371  (English  translation). 


APPENDIX  D 


297 


Another  suggested  derivation  is  from  Mineh,  harbour*;  and  yet 
another  from  Arabic  el-Munya,  a  hamlet.  It  is  said  in  support  of 
the  latter  that  in  the  eleventh  century  a  place  lay  here  called  Munjat 
Hischam,  and  that  the  name  Hischam  was  afterwards  dropped  f  ; 
that  in  the  fifteenth  century  it  was  called  el-Munya  ;  and  we  may 
add  that  in  the  seventeenth  century  John  Sanderson,  as  we  have 
seen,  knew  it  as  Almenia. 

Amid  this  conflict  of  authorities  a  layman  finds  it  difficult  to  form 
a  judgment.  All  that  seems  clear  is  that  the  philological  claim  of 
Minyeh  is  no  worse  than  that  of  Tell  Hfim. 


12.  The  Argument  from  Tradition. 

I  do  not  propose  to  dwell  at  any  length  upon  the  argument 
from  tradition.  Those  who  desire  to  study  it  in  detail  may  be 
referred  to  the  works  of  Robinson,  Thomson,  Sepp,  Wilson,  Conder, 
G.  A.  Smith,  Keim,  Stanley,  and  many  other  writers.  J  The  upshot 
seems  to  be  that,  as  Prof.  Smith  puts  it,  “  A  strong  Christian  tradi¬ 
tion  from  the  sixth  century  onward  has  fixed  [the  site  of  Capernaum] 
at  Tell  Hfim,”  and  that  “for  Khan  Minyeh  the  tradition  is  nearly  as 
old.”  Jewish  tradition,  however,  is  in  favour  of  Minyeh,  and,  as 
Colonel  Conder  says,  “  When  these  two  traditions  are  discordant,  the 
Christian  ceases  to  be  of  much  value,  for  it  is  evident  that  the 
traditions  of  the  Jews,  handed  down  unbroken  by  an  indigenous 
population  which  was  never  driven  from  the  country,  must  take  pre¬ 
cedence  of  the  foreign  ecclesiastical  traditions  of  comparatively 
later  times,  which  can  so  often  be  proved  self  -  inconsistent,  or 
founded  on  fallacy.”  § 

The  conclusion  which  I  would  draw  from  the  whole  of  the 
evidence  is,  that  probabilities  incline  strongly  to  el-Minyeh.  Espe¬ 
cially  would  I  urge  that  when  the  natural  features  of  that  place  are 
taken  in  combination  and  compared  with  the  indications  in  the 
Gospel  story  no  other  spot  upon  the  lake- shore  suits  those  indica¬ 
tions  so  well ;  nowhere  else  is  it  so  easy  to  reconstruct  a  Capernaum 
which  answers  to  the  home  of  Jesus  as  the  New  Testament 
describes  it. 


*  “  Encycl.  Bibl.,”art.  “Capernaum.” 
f  See  Professor  G.  A.  Smith,  “  Hist.  Geog.,”  p.  456  fn. 

j  For  readily  accessible  summaries  of  the  argument  from  tradition,  see  especially 
“The  Encyclopaedia  Biblica”  and  Smith’s  “Dictionary  of  the  Bible,”  articles 
“Capernaum  ”  ;  Wilson  and  Warren,  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  p.  383  ;  and  Conder, 
“  Tent-Work,”  pp.  292-7.  §  “Tent-Work,”  p.  297. 


298 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


E.  THE  BETHESDA  QUESTION 

(See  ch.  xxxiii.) 

The  Bordeaux  Pilgrim  (a.d.  333)  referred  to  in  the  text  (p.  206) 
thus  describes  his  visit  to  Bethesda  : — 

“  There  are  at  Jerusalem  two  great  pools  at  the  side  of  the 
Temple,  that  is,  one  on  the  right  hand  and  the  other  on  the  left, 
which  Solomon  made.  But  more  within  the  city  are  two  twin 
pools,  having  five  porches,  which  are  called  Bethsaida  [Bethesda]. 
Here  the  sick  of  many  years  were  wont  to  be  healed.” 

Now,  if  we  suppose  the  Pilgrim  to  have  entered  the  city  by  the 
Gate  of  St.  Stephen,  the  three  pools  which  he  mentions  are  easily 
identified.  The  one  on  the  right  hand  would  be  that  which  lies 
beside  the  Church  of  St.  Anne,  the  one  on  the  left  would  be  that 
known  now  as  Birket  Israin  ;  and  the  “  Twin  Pools,”  “more  within 
the  city,”  would  be  the  double  pool  beneath  the  Convent  of  the 
Sisters  of  Zion. 

One  point  in  favour  of  the  Twin  Pools  being  Bethesda  is  their 
antiquity.  They  were  cut  in  the  bottom  of  the  Moat  of  the  Castle 
of  Antonia,  and  were  in  existence  therefore  before  that  moat  was 
filled  up.  As  stated  in  the  text,  they  correspond  in  situation  with 
the  Pool  Strouthion,  mentioned  by  Josephus  in  his  account  of  the 
Siege  of  Jerusalem,  and,  if  that  identification  holds,  they  must  have 
been  in  existence  at  the  commencement  of  our  era. 

Another  point  is  that  the  pool  lends  itself  to  the  feature  of  the 
“Five  Porches.”  An  ordinary  rectangular  bathing-pool  would  have 
four  such  cloisters  or  colonnades,  but  this  one  with  its  dividing  wall 
of  rock,  five  feet  in  breadth,  might  very  well  have  five.  In  the  life¬ 
time  of  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  (d.  386)  five  cloisters  actually  existed, 
four  round  the  double  pool  and  one  down  the  middle. 

A  third  point  is  its  proximity  to  the  Sheep  Gate.  For,  although 
the  Sheep  Gate  was  formerly  placed  at  Bab  el-Kattanin  on  the  west 
of  the  Temple  area,  Bethesda  being  placed  at  the  neighbouring 
Hammam  esh-Shifa,  the  weight  of  modern  authority  is  in  favour  of 
a  position  for  the  Sheep  Gate  near  to  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
north  wall  of  the  ancient  city,  at  a  point  which  at  present  lies 
within  the  Haram,  and  which  would  be  about  150  yards  to  the 
south-east  of  the  Twin  Pools. 

There  is  an  ancient  aqueduct  leading  to  the  Twin  Pools,  which 
has  been  traced  as  far  as  the  northern  wall,  where  it  was  cut  through 


APPENDIX  E 


299 


when  the  ancient  fosse  was  made.  A  tradition  of  running  water 
seems,  moreover,  to  be  preserved  in  the  name  of  one  of  the  neigh¬ 
bouring  streets,  which  the  Arabs  call  the  Street  of  Bubbling  Water.* 
Nevertheless,  the  assumption  with  which  Warren  started,  that  the 
pools  were  fed  by  a  living  spring,  does  not  appear  to  be  justified, 
for  the  nearest  spring  with  which  the  aqueduct  could  have  been 
connected  is  that  of  Bireh,  ten  miles  away,  and  no  trace  of  it  has 
been  found  in  that  direction,  notwithstanding  extensive  excava¬ 
tions  for  road-making  and  building.  It  is  more  probable,  therefore, 
that  it  merely  collected  rain-water  from  the  rocks  north  of  the  city. 

The  three  points  in  favour  of  identifying  the  Twin  Pools  with 
Bethesda  apply  with  equal  weight  to  St.  Anne’s  Pool,  except  that  in 
the  case  of  the  latter  the  fifth  “  porch  ”  would  be  short  and  insig¬ 
nificant,  since  the  two  oblong  reservoirs  lie  end  to  end,  whereas  in 
the  case  of  the  Twin  Pools  they  lie  side  by  side.  The  one  fact 
which  weighs  heavily  in  favour  of  St.  Anne’s  Pool  is  its  proximity  to 
the  Sheep  Gate,  assuming  that  the  modern  view  of  the  position  of 
that  gate  is  correct. 

With  respect  to  the  view  taken  in  the  text  that,  supposing  the 
account  of  the  healing  at  Bethesda  to  be  based  on  a  real  incident, 
that  incident  probably  occurred  at  Siloam,  it  may  be  objected  that 
Siloam  is  not  near  the  Sheep  Gate.  But  we  have  to  bear  in  mind 
that  neither  “  gate,”  as  in  the  Revised  Version,  nor  “market,”  as 
in  the  Authorised  Version,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Greek  text,  and 
that  what  the  7rpoj3aTiKr]  was  is  matter  of  conjecture  ;  also  that  the 
site  of  the  Sheep  Gate  itself  is  still  in  dispute,  and  that  such  authori¬ 
ties  as  Robinson,  Lightfoot  and  Conder  place  it  at  the  south-east 
corner  of  Jerusalem,  close  to  Siloam.  But  even  supposing  the 
Sheep  Gate  to  have  been  at  the  north-east  corner  of  the  ancient 
Temple  area,  where  most  recent  authorities,  as  explained  above, 
place  it,  this  does  not  really  affect  the  question  of  the  historical 
fact,  it  only  affects  the  question  what  pool  the  Evangelist  himself 
assigned  to  the  miracle.  He  may  not,  as  suggested  in  the  text, 
have  known  the  name  of  the  pool,  and  may  have  invented  the  name 
Bethesda  for  its  figurative  significance.  But  even  if  he  knew  the 
incident  to  have  occurred  at  Siloam  he  would  be  free,  in  a  book 
confessedly  allegorical,  to  use  the  poetic  licence  of  transferring  the 
incident,  together  with  some  topographical  features  of  Siloam,  to 
another  pool.  Supposing  the  five  porches  to  be  a  topographical 

*  Is  it  possible  that  Hosh  Bezbezi  (bubbling  of  water)  is  a  reminiscence  of  the 
ancient  name  of  the  pool,  which,  as  Edersheim  suggests  (“  Jesus  the  Messiah,”  ninth 
edition,  vol.  i.  p.  463),  “might  combine,  according  to  a  not  uncommon  Rabbinic 
practice,  the  Hebrew  Beth  with  some  Aramaised  form  derived  from  the  Greek  word 
Ceoj,  ‘  to  boil,’  or  ‘bubble-up  ’  (subst.  £e<us) ;  in  which  case  it  would  mean  ‘the  House 
of  Bubbling-up,’  viz.,  water”? 


3°° 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


fact,  and  not  merely  an  allegorical  symbol ;  and  supposing  Bethesda 
(or  as  the  Codex  Sinaiticus  gives  it  “  Bethzatha  ”)  to  be  but  a  cor¬ 
ruption  of  Bezetha — the  new  north-eastern  suburb — then,  one  of 
the  two  double  pools  at  the  ^orth  of  the  Temple  (that  at  St.  Anne’s 
or  that  at  the  Convent  of  Zion)  is  probably  the  pool  which  the 
Evangelist  had  in  mind.  Upon  this  pool  of  Bethesda,  which  was 
known  to  him  in  fact  or  by  repute  he  grafts  the  story,  because  it 
supplied  him  with  the  sacrificial  idea  suggested  by  the  Sheep  Gate, 
and  a  symbol  for  the  “five  porches  ”  of  human  sensibility.  But  the 
one  central  feature,  the  troubling  of  the  water,  belonged  to  the 
actual  occurrence  and  to  the  actual  place.  The  healing  act  was 
wrought  beside  the  troubled  waters  of  Siloam,  but  transferred  to 
Bethesda  for  the  sake  of  certain  accessory  features  which  aided  the 
symbolism  of  the  story. 


F.  THE  SITE  OF  HEROD’S  TEMPLE 

(See  p.  230) 

If  we  are  to  picture  to  ourselves  the  Temple  as  it  appeared  in  the 
time  of  Jesus,  we  must  determine,  first,  the  extent  and  form  of  the 
surrounding  area ;  and,  secondly,  the  position  of  the  Sanctuary 
within  that  area. 

It  is  agreed  on  all  hands  that  Antonia  stood  at  the  north-west 
corner  of  the  Haram,  where  the  Turkish  barracks  now  stand ;  that 
the  present  north-east  corner  was  then  wanting,  a  valley  running  at 
that  time  diagonally  across  the  space  now  occupied  by  that  corner ; 
also,  that  the  south-west  corner  is  Herodian.  The  eastern  side  is 
in  dispute,  some  holding  that  the  present  east  wall  corresponds 
with  that  of  Christ’s  time,  others  that  Herod’s  wall  was  much  further 
west,  and  that  the  antiquity  of  the  south-east  corner  is  to  be 
accounted  for  by  the  existence  of  a  detached  tower  at  that  point. 
The  facts  as  to  the  external  masonry,  which  govern  che  whole 
question,  are  as  follows  : — 

Starting  from  the  Jews’  Wailing  Place  northward,  we  find  that 
until  we  reach  the  north-west  angle  of  the  Haram,  the  whole  of  the 
west  wall  is  encumbered  with  buildings  to  such  an  extent  that  there 
are  only  one  or  two  points  where  it  can  be  seen,  but  at  these  points 
the  lower  part  of  the  wall  is  of  the  same  character  as  that  of  the 
Wailing  Place.  Near  the  north-west  corner,  opposite  to  that 
rectangular  rock  upon  which  the  Fortress  of  Antonia  once  stood, 


APPENDIX  F 


301 

the  character  of  the  wall  is  of  special  interest.  A  peep  of  it  can  be 
obtained  by  entering  the  old  aqueduct  which  comes  down  from  the 
Twin  Pools  ;  and  what  is  found  is  that  the  wall  is  eight  feet  thick, 
that  the  masonry  is  similar  in  character  to  that  at  the  Wailing 
Place,  that  it  projects  eight  or  nine  feet  from  the  main  line  of  the 
wall  (which  is  what  we  should  expect  in  the  boundary  wall  of  a 
corner  castle),  and  that  it  is  furnished  with  buttresses  like  those  of 
another  great  work  of  Herod’s — the  walls  of  the  Haram  of  Hebron. 

Turning  the  corner  we  follow  the  northern  scarp  of  the  same 
rocky  platform  eastward  for  a  distance  of  350  feet.  There  the 
scarp  ends,  and  we  might  perhaps  have  expected  some  ancient  and 
massive  wall  to  form  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Haram ;  but 
nothing  of  the  sort  appears.  The  whole  of  the  northern  wall  is 
recent,  dating  probably  from  the  twelfth  century  of  our  era. 

At  the  north-east  corner  the  character  of  this  masonry  can  be 
plainly  seen,  for  the  north  wall  of  the  Haram  forms  the  south  wall 
of  the  Birket  Israin.  The  stones  are  of  medium  size  and  irregularly 
built,  and  excavation  has  proved  that  this  is  so  down  to  the  rock; 
there  is  nothing  there  at  all  like  the  masonry  of  the  Wailing  Place. 

But  directly  we  turn  the  corner  and  begin  to  go  southward,  we 
find  ourselves  in  more  ancient  times.  Not  necessarily,  however,  in 
Herodian  days.  In  fact,  there  are  two  reasons  against  supposing 
that  this  north-eastern  corner  was  Herod’s  work.  One  is  that  it  is 
not  a  corner  at  all ;  that  is  to  say,  the  ancient  east  wall  does  not 
turn  the  corner,  but  runs  past  it  northward,  as  though  this  were 
part  of  the  old  city  wall  rather  than  that  of  the  Haram,  while  the 
mediaeval  north  wall  merely  abuts  upon  it  with  a  straight  joint. 
Another  fact  is  that  the  stone  is  of  inferior  quality  and  the  masonry 
of  a  different  character  from  that  of  our  Wailing-Place  masonry.* 

This  doubtful  masonry  extends  southward  for  179  feet,  almost 
to  the  Golden  Gate ;  then  comes  a  Moslem  cemetery,  and  no 
excavations  can  be  made.  From  the  Golden  Gate  southward  the 

*  “  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,”  vol.  i.  pp.  162,  167.  The  stones  are  said  to  have  great 
bulging  rough  surfaces  within  the  draft  of  the  blocks;  but  too  much  has  been  made  of 
this  circumstance,  for,  in  the  projecting  tower  which  rises  squarely  from  the  sloping 
base  at  the  north-east  corner,  the  faces  of  the  stone  are  dressed  smooth,  and  at  the 
angle  of  the  tower  these  two  different  faces  are  cut  on  one  and  the  same  stone  ( “P.  E.F ." 
Mem.  “  Jerusalem  Vol.,”  p.  128)  proving  that  the  rough  and  smooth  masonry  are  of 
identical  date.  Moreover,  Conder  has  pointed  out  that  masonry  of  the  same  character 
exists  “  west  of  the  Double  Gate,  and  on  the  west  wall  south  of  the  Prophet’s  Gate, 
where  the  stones  have  rustic  bosses  with  great  projection,”  and  “  that  in  the  three 
places  where  the  rustic  work  occurs  a  valley  intersects  the  east,  the  west,  and  the 
south  walls  of  the  Sanctuary  respectively.  It  may  be  suggested,”  he  adds,  “  that  the 
ground  was  filled  in  in  these  valleys,  both  inside  and  outside  the  Sanctuary,  above  the 
level  of  the  rough  masonry,  at  the  time  of  the  construction  of  the  walls.”  (“  Jerusalem 
Vol.,”p.  243.  See  also  Hastings,  “  Diet.  Bib.,"  “  Jerusalem.”)  Nevertheless,  Conder 
recognises  the  masonry  of  the  east  wall  north  of  the  Golden  Gate  as  of  “  somewhat 
different  ”  character  from  the  Herodian  masonry,  and  attributes  this  part  of  the  wall 
to  Agrippa  (41  a.d.).  (“  Jerusalem  Vol.,”  p.  245.) 


3°2 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


wall  below  the  surface  has  never  been  seen,  until  you  come  within 
161  feet  of  the  south-east  angle,  Nevertheless,  there  is  said  to  be 
some  reason  to  suppose  that  this  part  of  the  wall  is  older  than  the 
northern  part.* 

But,  as  we  approach  the  south-eastern  corner  we  unmistakably 
resume  the  Herodian  story.  The  walls  here  are  74  feet 
in  height,  and  contain  blocks  measuring  from  16  to  22  feet  in 
length.  Those  whose  theory  confines  Herod’s  Temple  Courts  to  a 
comparatively  small  square  at  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Haram, 
account  for  this  masonry  by  supposing  a  detached  tower  there ; 
but  that  supposition  seems  to  be  practically  disposed  of  by  Warren’s 
discovery  of  the  Ophel  wall.  Josephus  states  that  this  wall,  which 
defended  the  Ophel  and  Tyropoeon  valley,  joined  the  Temple  wall 
at  the  south-east  corner.  Warren  excavated  the  wall,  and  thus  fixed 
this  corner  as  the  original  south-east  corner  of  Herod’s  Temple. 

This  brings  us  to  the  south  wall,  and  here  again  we  find  remark¬ 
able  and  debatable  features.  The  south  side  of  the  Haram  is  922 
feet  long,  and  it  is  divided  into  three  nearly  equal  sections  by  two 
gates,  called  the  Double  and  Triple  Gates.  Now,  from  the  Double 
Gate  eastward,  on  a  level  with  the  sill  of  the  gate,  is  a  line  of  great 
stones  of  double  height,  but  this  feature  is  not  found  westward  of 
that  gate.  From  this  fact,  a  different  date  has  been  assigned  for 
this  part  of  the  walk  But  it  seems,  after  all,  to  be  small  ground 
for  such  a  conjecture.  The  masonry  is  all  of  that  vast  and  generous 
style  which  we  find  exemplified  at  the  Wailing  Place  and  in  the 
undoubtedly  Herodian  sections  of  the  wall ;  and,  without  some 
additional  reason  for  assigning  this  section  to  a  different  age,  one 
would  be  inclined  to  look  for  an  explanation  of  this  “  master- 
course  in  some  other  circumstance. ”f  And  so  we  come  to  the 
south-west  corner,  about  which  there  is  no  dispute,  all  admitting  it 
to  be  Herodian. 

So  far  as  the  masonry  is  concerned,  therefore,  we  may  say  that 
on  the  whole  it  bears  out  the  view  that  the  present  walls  coincide 
with  those  of  Herod,  with  the  exception  of  the  east  part  of  the  north 
wall  and  the  north  part  of  the  east  wall ;  and  this  accords  with  the 
view  that  Herod’s  Temple  area  occupied  an  approximate  square, 
which  may  be  described  by  drawing  a  line  from  east  to  west,  a  little 
north  of  the  Golden  Gate  :  and  that  Antonia,  with  the  cloister 
connecting  it  with  the  Temple,  projected  northward  from  the  north¬ 
west  corner  of  that  square. 

As  to  the  Temple  building,  or  Sanctuary  itself,  the  principal 
reason  for  placing  it  at  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Haram  is  that 
Josephus  says  that  the  Temple  enclosure  was  a  square  measuring 

*  Smith’s  D.  B.,  “  Jerusalem,”  p.  1638.  Conder,  in  “  P.E.F.Q.S.,”  1880,  p.  93. 

t  P.B.F.  “Jerusalem  Vol.,”  p.  244. 


APPENDIX  F 


3°3 


400  cubits  (about  600  feet)  each  side ;  *  and  since  the  south-west 
corner  is  the  only  right  angle  in  the  Herodian  masonry,  this  is 
the  only  corner  in  which  such  a  square  will  fit.  Therefore,  the 
Temple  area,  it  is  argued,  must  be  found  by  measuring  about  600 
feet  along  the  south  wall  and  the  same  distance  along  the  west 
wall,  starting  in  each  case  from  the  south-west  angle.  The  facts 
that  the  Triple  Gate,  where  the  solid  ground  ends,  is  588  feet  from 
that  corner  measuring  eastwards,  and  that  Wilson’s  Arch  is  586  feet 
north  of  the  same  corner,  are  taken  as  confirmatory  of  the  theory. 

Josephus,  writing  far  away  in  Rome,  and  dependent  probably  upon 
memory,  is  so  often  astray  in  figures  that  the  dimensions  which  he 
records  do  not  form  a  very  strong  foundation  for  the  argument. 
Nevertheless  there  is  no  doubt  force  in  the  contention  that  he 
generally  exaggerates  instead  of  diminishing  his  numbers  when  he  is 
describing  the  glories  of  Israel’s  possessions;  and  here  he  con¬ 
siderably  diminishes  the  size  of  the  Temple  Courts,  if  they  did 
actually  occupy  the  much  larger  space  which  we  have  assigned  to 
them  above.  Such  a  ground-plan  as  that  described  would  give  a 
square  of  something  like  900  feet  a  side,  instead  of  600. 

Conder  meets  the  difficulty  by  supposing  that  the  figures  of 
Josephus  relate  only  to  the  Soreg,  or  wall  of  partition  which  divided 
off  the  consecrated  ground  from  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles, J  and  it 
is  certainly  noteworthy  that  the  central  platform,  with  a  strip  fifty 
feet  broad  around  it,  would  give  approximately  the  required 
measurement.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  reconcile  this  view  with 
the  language  of  Josephus  unless  we  suppose  that  in  the  passages 
cited  he  is  describing  not  the  Temple  of  Herod  but  the  Temple  of 
Solomon.  J  And  this  is  probably  what  he  is  doing.  He  appears  in 
fact  to  identify  the  dimensions  of  Herod’s  Temple  enclosure  with 
Solomon’s,  although  elsewhere  he  distinctly  says  that  when  Herod 
rebuilt  the  Temple  he  “  encompassed  a  piece  of  land  about  it  with 
a  wall;  which  land  was  twice  as  large  as  that  before  enclosed. ”§ 
On  the  whole,  we  may  conclude,  I  think,  that  when  Josephus  gives 
the  dimensions  of  the  Temple  area  as  a  stadium  each  side,  he  is 
giving  the  measurement  of  the  ancient  and  sacred  area  ;  and  it  is 
confirmatory  of  this  that  on  the  hypothesis  of  the  ground-plan  which 
we  arrived  at  on  the  evidence  of  the  masonry,  Herod’s  area, 
including  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  would  actually  be  rather  more 
than  twice  the  size  of  the  sacred  area  as  given  by  Josephus.  || 


*  P.E.F. 
Jerusalem. 


Jerusalem  Vol. p.  97. 


Smith,  D.  B.,  second  edition,  p.  1639, 
f  “  Tent-Work,”  pp.  183-186. 

X  “Ant.,”  xv.,  xi.  3,  5  ;  xx.,  ix.  7;  and  “Wars,”  v.,  v.  2.  §  “Wars,”i.,  xxi.  1. 

||  Cf.  Hastings,  D.  B.,  “Jerusalem,”  p.  598.  Of  course  the  prime  objection  to 
Wilson’s  theory  is  that  the  south-west  corner  of  the  HarAm  really  crosses  the  valley 
of  the  Tyropoeon,  and  that  the  massive  Temple  buildings  would  therefore,  on  that 
theory,  have  been  built  upon  ground  which  had  been  made  up  by  filling  in  Herod’s 
enclosing  walls  with  rubble  and  earth,  as  already  explained. 


3°4 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Abandoning,  therefore,  ihe  theory  that  the  Temple  area,  and 
therefore  the  Temple  itself,  occupied  the  south-west  corner  of  the 
Haram,  a  theory  which  rests  mainly  upon  the  doubtful  measurements 
and  the  ambiguous  language  of  Josephus,  we  are  free  to  give  due 
weight  to  the  evidence  which  goes  to  show  that  the  holy  house  itself 
stood  over  or  near  the  Sakhra  or  sacred  rock. 

The  points  in  favour  of  that  view  are,  briefly  stated,  as  follows  : 

(i)  Josephus  says  that  the  Temple  stood  “upon  the  topmost 
plateau.”  (2)  If  placed  there,  the  levels  of  the  Courts,  as  recorded 
in  the  Mishna  as  well  as  by  Josephus,  agree  with  the  actual  rock- 
levels,  as  ascertained  by  observation.*  (3)  The  tenacity  with 
which  Oriental  tradition  clings  to  sacred  sites  makes  it  likely  that 
the  Sakhra,  which  is  always  regarded  as  the  central  sacred  point  of 
the  Haram,  is  the  original  centre  of  holiness.  These  points  are 
elaborated  in  the  works  already  referred  to,  and,  taken  in  conjunction 
with  other  minor  points  there  given,  carry  conviction  to  most  minds 
that  the  Temple  stood  at  this  central  part  of  the  Haram. 

But  now,  if  the  Temple  stood  at  or  near  the  Sakhra,  what  was 
the  Sakhra  itself?  Was  it,  as  Conder  supposes,  the  stone  of 
foundation  within  the  Holy  of  Holies  ?  Or,  was  it  the  rock  upon 
which  stood  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  facing  the  holy  place  ? 

The  former  view  seems  to  be  clearly  negatived  by  known  facts. 
A  tradition  was  current,  it  is  true,  among  the  Jews,  at  the  beginning 
of  our  era,  that  the  place  of  the  lost  ark  was  taken  by  a  stone 
called  “  the  foundation  stone  ” ;  but  this  was  supposed  to  be 
identical  with  the  stone  which  Jacob  “set  up”  for  a  pillar  at 
Bethel,  and  must  therefore  have  been  a  detached  block  of  moderate 
size. |  The  term,  moreover,  used  in  the  Talmud  to  describe  the 
stone  of  foundation  proves  that  it  was  not  a  rock  but  a  moveable 
stone. X  Yet,  again,  the  size  of  the  Sakhra  negatives  the  theory; 
for,  the  Holy  of  Holies  measured  twenty  cubits  each  way  and  could  not 
have  contained  the  Sakhra,  which  measures  about  two  and  a  half 
times  that  area.  Finally,  if  the  Holy  of  Holies  stood  here,  the  altar 
must  have  stood  so  far  to  the  east  that  there  would  have  been  no 
room  for  the  Courts. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  Sakhra  be  regarded  as  the  unhewn 
rock  upon  which  the  altar  of  burnt  offering  stood,  then  a  channel 
observed  in  the  rock,  and  a  hollow  which  exists  beneath  it,  are 
accounted  for.  The  channel  would  be  designed  to  carry  off  the 
blood,  and  the  hollow  beneath  is  probably  a  cistern  connected  with 
the  general  system  of  conduits. 

*  “  Tent-Work,”  sixth  edition,  p.  288. 

t  Smith,  D.  B.,  second  edition,  “Jerusalem,”  p.  1643. 

+  “  Encycl.  Bibl.,”  “  Temple,”  col.  4928.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  sacrificial  rock 
on  Mount  Gerizim  has  a  cave  beneath  it  similar  to  the  cave  beneath  the  Sakhra 
(Tristram,  “  Land  of  Israel,”  p.  174.) 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT  ROUTE  MAP 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT. 


INDEX 


Abel  of  Beth-Maachah,  93 
Abil-el-Kamh,  93 
Abimelech,  158 

Abraham  and  the  Cave  of  Machpelah, 
197,  199 

Abraham’s  terebinth,  196,  201 

Adamah,  Ford  of  (cf.  Damieh,  Ford  of) 

Adonijah,  245 

^Enon,  159,  178 

Ahab,  43 

Ain  Belata,  109 

Ain-ed-Dirweh,  the  legendary  spring  in 
which  Philip  baptized  the  Eunuch,  196 
Ain-el-Fara,  sometimes  identified  with 
.TEnon,  159 
Ain-el-Meiyiteh,  42 

Ain-et-Tin(w  Fountain  of  the  Fig  Tree) 
Ain  Jalrtd,  42,  43 

Ain  Tabigha,  71,  78  (cf  Bethesda — 
Appendix) 

Akiba,  Rabbi,  Tomb  of,  128 
Akra,  the  Greek,  226 
Almond  trees,  2,  34 
Aloes,  125 

Anchorites  of  Palestine,  149 
Anemones,  12,  53,  60  ;  their  probable 
identity  with  the  “lilies  of  the  field,” 
60  (note) 

Anise,  251 

Antonia,  225,  226  (cf.  Bethesda  and  Ap¬ 
pendix  E) 

Antonia,  Fort,  205-206,225  ;  Ecce  Homo 
Arch,  205,  206  (cf.  Bethesda  and  Appen¬ 
dix  E) 

Apocalypse,  reference  to  Pella  in  the,  146 
Aqueduct  of  Gennesaret,  77  (cf.  Appen¬ 
dix  D) 

Aqueducts,  Roman,  34  (cf  Fountains, 
Irrigation,  Water  Supply,  &c.) 

Arab  escort,  an,  166  ;  his  dress  and  horse¬ 
manship,  166 
Arabia,  144 

Arabs,  ingrained  deceit  of,  31 
Arak,  251 
Arbela,  122 

Archelaus,  the  probable  tomb  of,  191 
Askar  (see  Sychar) 

Baldwin,  Castle  of,  66 

Baniyas,  93,  94,  97,  105  ;  ancient  bridge, 


105 ;  the  gateway,  105 ;  the  Grotto  of 
Pan,  106  ;  mixed  religious  associations, 
107-8 ;  Castle  of,  93  (cf  Caesarea 
Philippi) 

Barbers,  224 
Bartimaeus,  170,  171 
Baslran,  bulls  of,  70  ;  cliffs  of,  60 
Battle-ground  of  Palestine  (cf.  Esdraelon, 
Plain  of) 

Beatitudes,  Mount  of,  57 
Beautiful  Gate,  The,  234 
Bedawin  Camps,  68,  89,  91,  109,  141,  151 
Beeroth,  13,  14  ;  vineyards  of,  14  ;  an  old 
tradition,  15 

Beisan,  144,  153,  154 ;  theatre  of,  155  ; 
road-making,  156;  the  ancient  Beth- 
shan  (q.v. ) 

Beit-Dejan  (the  ancient  Beth-Dagon),  7 
Bet-Lahm,  46 

Beth-Dagon  (see  Beit-Dejan) 

Beth-Nimrah  (the  reputed  Bethabara), 
173,  I7S  I  the  traditional  scene  of  the 
baptism  of  Jesus,  176  ;  baptisms  by 
St.  John,  178 

Beth-zur  (Jordan),  181,  182;  ruins  of  an 
ancient  bridge,  182 

Beth-zur  (Judaea),  ruins  of  a  tower  which 
marks  the  site  of,  196 
Bethabara,  152,  175  ;  its  variants,  175, 
177  icf  Bethany,  Beth-Nimrah,  Tell 
Nimrin) 

Bethany,  167;  castle  at,  167  ;  “beyond 
Jordan,”  175 ;  house  of  Mary  and 
Martha,  246,  248 ;  pomegranates  of, 
247  ;  view  from,  247 ;  Dean  Stanley’s 
topography  of,  247-248  (cf.  Bethabara, 
Beth-Nimrah,  Tell  Nimrin) 

Bethbarah,  152 

Bethel,  15  ;  “  Jacob’s  Ladder,”  16 ;  stone 
circle  at,  17 

Bethesda,  203,  298 ;  Hezekiah’s  Pool, 
203,  209 ;  other  Pools,  203,  298  et  seq.  ; 
Biblical  references,  204 ;  the  Twin 
Pools,  206, 298  ;  Birket  Israin  regarded 
by  Crusaders  as  Pool  of,  207,  235,  298  ; 
the  Pool  of  St.  Anne,  208-209,  299  ; 
the  Five  Porches,  208,  299  ;  the  Sheep 
Gate,  299  ;  the  “  Street  of  Bubbling 
Water,”  299;  Siloam  identified  with, 
300 


U 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


3°6 

Bethesda  Question,  The  ( see  Appendix  E) 
Bethlehem,  188  ;  dress  and  coiffure  of 
women  of,  188,  189  ;  vineyards  round 
about,  189 ;  Rachel’s  Tomb,  190 ;  its 
industries,  191  ;  David’s  Well,  191, 
192 ;  Church  of  the  Nativity,  192 ; 
scene  in  the  church,  192,  193;  the 
chapels  of  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  193  ; 
the  manger,  194;  the  cell  of  St.  Jerome, 
194 

Bethlehem-Ephratah  ( cf.  Bethlehem  of 
Judaea) 

Bethlehem  of  Galilee,  a  visit  to,  46-48  ; 
the  question  of  the  true  birthplace  of 
Jesus,  46,  257  et  seq.  ;  native  washer¬ 
women,  47;  ruins  of  synagogue  and 
church,  48 ;  distance  from  Nazareth,  256 
(cf.  Bethlehem  Question,  The) 
Bethlehem  of  Judea,  257,  262,  265 
Bethlehem  Question,  The,  257-265  (Ap¬ 
pendix  B) 

Bethlehem  of  Zebulon,  258 
Bethsaida,  68  ;  in  search  of,  68-71  ;  Dr. 
Thomson  on,  68  ;  the  disputed  site,  68, 
69,  265  et  seq.  :  discrepancies  in  the 
Gospels  as  to  its  site,  265  et  seq.] 
Josephus  on,  272 ;  meaning  of,  272 
(cf.  Appendix  C) 

Bethshan,  152, 154;  famous  for  its  chariots, 
I54 

Bezetha,  163,  206  ;  Hill  of,  163 
Bireh,  the  ancient  Beeroth  (q.v.) 

Birket  Israin  regarded  by  Crusaders  as 
Pool  of  Bethesda,  235 
Birds  of  Prey,  88,  97,  104,  167  ;  Canon 
Tristram  on,  88  (note),  (cf.  Eagles, 
Pharaoh’s  Hen,  Vultures) 

Blood-feud,  a  reminder  of,  159 
Borage,  164 
Brambles,  34 
Brassworker,  A,  250 
Breadsellers  of  Jerusalem,  249 
Broom  plant,  The,  58 
Buffaloes,  70,  109 
Bulbul,  The,  174 

C/ESAREA  Philippi  (now  called  Baniyas), 
93>  94>  97  I  waters  at,  forming  one  of 
the  sources  of  the  Jordan,  94,  108  ; 
Grotto  of  Pan,  106 ;  mixed  religions, 
107,  108 

Caesar’s  Temple,  ruins  of,  106-7 
Cairo,  Joseph’s  Well  at,  82  (note) 

Calf,  a  stuffed,  91  ;  the  golden,  set  up 
by  Jeroboam,  96 
Callirhoe,  hot  springs  of,  170 
Calvary,  Mount,  reputed  site,  9,  10, 
163-4  ;  the  tomb,  164 
Cana  of  Galilee,  57 ;  other  Canas,  58  ; 
brook  of,  58 

Canaanites  and  their  chariots,  154 
Caper  plant,  the,  164 
Capernaum,  ruins  of,  71, 287;  controversy 
as  to  its  sites,  72,  77  et  seq.,  115  et  seq.. 


274  et  seq. ;  a  mental  picture  of,  115-116 ; 
the  “Coracinus”  fish,ii5, 119,282^5^.; 
was  Capernaum  in  Gennesaret  ?  286  ; 

“  Capharnaum,”  77, 115,  287  et  seq.]  the 
Roman  garrison,  290 ;  the  Customs 
station,  290  ;  the  synagogue,  291  ;  its 
probable  harbour,  292;  its  plan,  293  et 
seq.]  the  “mountain’’  behind,  295;  philo¬ 
logical  argument,  295  ;  argument  from 
tradition,  297  (cf.  Minyeh,  Tell  Hfim, 
and  Appendix  D) 

Carmel,  Mount,  48,  51 
Castle  at  Bethany,  167  ;  of  Subebeh,  98 
Census  in  Judaea  and  the  birthplace  of 
Jesus,  259  et  seq. 

Chamomile  plant,  the,  65 
Chariots,  154 

Cherith,  the  brook,  168-169 
Cheyne,  Canon,  on  the  Nazareth  Contro¬ 
versy,  255-6  ;  on  Wadi-el- Kelt,  168 
Chorazin,  81  ;  a  picture  of  chaos,  81  ; 
distance  from  Tell  Hum,  81  ;  Jerome’s 
description  of,  81,  82 ;  the  ruins  of,  82 
Christ,  birthplace  of  (cf.  Bethlehem)  ; 

His  tomb,  257  et  seq.  ;  andLazarus,  246 
Church  of  St.  Anne,  Jerusalem,  208 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  205 ;  the 
Holy  Fire,  237-240 

Church  of  the  Nativity,  Bethlehem,  192 ; 
architectural  details,  192-193 ;  the 
various  chapels,  193  ;  cell  of  St.  Jerome 

194 

Cisterns  of  Jerusalem,  235-236 
“  City  of  God’s  Friend,’’  the,  197 
“  City  of  Palms,”  the,  170 
Cleopatra  and  the  balsam  of  Jericho,  170 
Climate  of  Palestine,  184-185 
Conder,  Colonel,  on  the  Mosque  of  the 
Forty,  19  ;  on  the  Samaritans,  30  (note) ; 
on  Nazareth,  53  ;  on  Cana,  58  ;  on  the 
“evil  eye,”  125;  on  Kerak,  130;  on 
Herod’s  Temple,  301,  303 
Conder’s  Calvary,  162 
Conder’s  Sepulchre,  241-242 
Coppersmith,  A,  250 
Coracinus  fish,  115,  119,  282  et  seq. 

Corn,  A  measure  of,  250 
Coronation  stones,  245  (and  note) 

“  Cradle  of  Christ,”  The,  233 
Crusaders :  Baldwin’s  Tower,  66  ;  towers 
at  Jericho,  171  ;  castle  at  PI  unin,  93 
Cuckoo,  The,  157  (and  note) 

Cyclamen,  53 
Cypress-tree,  125 
Cyrenius,  258,  259 

Dagon,  worship  of,  4 
Damascus  Gate  of  Jerusalem,  161 
Damascus-Beyrout  Railway,  The,  6  (note) 
Damieh,  Ford  of,  181  ;  the  ford  at  which 
Jacob,  with  his  family  and  flocks,  is 
said  to  have  crossed,  182  ;  a  remark¬ 
able  coincidence  with  Joshua’s  crossing, 
182 


INDEX 


307 


Dan,  City  of,  95;  opinions  of  Professor 
Smith  and  Canon  Cheyne,  95  ;  of  Dean 
Stanley,  J.  Macgregor,  and  Canon 
Tristram,  96 

Dandelions  as  vegetables,  59 
David's  Tower,  203 
David’s  Well,  191,  192 
Dead  Well,  The,  42 
“  Debash,”  197 
Decapolis,  The,  144 
Demoniacs  ( cf.  Epileptics) 

Dogs  of  Palestine,  41 ;  of  Tiberias,  62,  72  ; 
of  Gadara,  137 

Dome  of  David’s  Chain,  origin  of,  228  ; 

(see,  also,  Dome  of  the  Rock) 

Dome  of  the  Rock,  8,  225,  227-231 ;  built 
by  el-Melik,  228  ;  often  confused  with 
the  Mosque  of  Omar,  228  ;  displaced 
by  earthquake,  229  (cf.  Temple,  the) 
Dorcas,  Tomb  of,  2 
Dothan,  Mountain  of,  37 
Double-pipe,  the  Syrian,  92 
Dragon’s  Well,  245 

Dress  in  the  North  and  South  of  Pales¬ 
tine,  102,  103 
Druse  religion,  The,  98 
Dyer,  A,  250 

Eagles,  88,  97,  104 
Earthquake  in  Jerusalem,  229 
Easter  at  Jerusalem,  159  ;  the  Latin,  161 
et  seq. ;  the  Greek,  184 
Ebal,  Mount,  22,  28,  34,  159 
Ecce  Homo  Arch,  Antonia,  205,  206 
Ecclesiastes,  reference  to  the  Pools  of 
Solomon,  195 
Edersheim,  Dr.,  20,  43,  44 
Ekron,  7 
Pll-Ar&j,  272 

El-Batlha,  Plain  of,  the  scene  of  Josephus’ 
fight  with  Sylla,  68,  69 
El-Blreh  ( see  Beeroth) 

El-Ghajar,  Bridge  of,  94 
El-Khalisah,  93 ;  ruined  castles,  93  ; 

Thomson's  identification,  93 
El-Lubban,  22,  159 
El-Waggas,  142 
Elisha,  Fountain  of,  180 
Elisha’s  spring,  171 
En-Gannim,  38,  39 
En-Rogel,  245  {cf.  Serpent’s  Well) 

Endor,  42 
Epileptics,  124 

Erlha,  171,  180  (see,  also,  Jericho) 
Er-Ram,  13,  14  ;  the  traditional  grave  of 
Rachel,  13,  14 

Esdraelon  Plain  of,  39-42,  44,  48 
Eshcol,  197  ;  grapes  of,  197 
Et-Tabigha,  115 
Et  Tell,  272  et  seq. 

“  Evil  eye,’’  The,  125,  243 

FaiBl,  143-149  ;  Battle  of,  143 ;  Terraces 
of,  148 


Feast  of  Tabernacles,  214 
Fellahin,  a  concourse  of,  131 
Fetish  worship,  132, 133 
Fig-trees,  19,  101,  153 
Fire-flies  near  Gennesaret,  157 
Fish-spears,  in;  Biblical  reference,  in 
Fish  without  scales,  119 
Fishing,  by  fire-light  at  night,  no  ;  cast¬ 
ing  nets  for,  117 
Flint  and  steel,  A,  21-22 
Flora  of  Palestine,  2,  6,  7,  12,  19,  34, 
44.  47.  S3.  S8>  60  (note),  65,  70,  75, 
76,  77,  96,  125,  126,  131,  132,  141, 

151,  157,  164 
Fountain  of  Elisha,  180 
Fountain  of  the  Fig-tree,  76,  114,  115; 

Josephus  on,  115 
Fountain  of  Gardens,  39 
Fountain  of  Gideon,  43 
Fountain  of  Jezreel  42 
Fountain  of  Sychar,  159 
Fountain  of  the  Sealed  Spring,  195 
Fountain,  the  Marble,  109 
Fountain  of  Capernaum,  115-116  (and 
Appendix  D) 

Fountains  of  Nazareth,  54 
Franciscan  Monks  at  Tell-Hum,  79-80 
Frogs  in  the  Holy  Land,  91-2,  109,  no 

Gadara,  Ruins  of,  132 :  rags  as  offer¬ 
ings,  132-133  ;  the  city  wall,  133  ;  the 
Acropolis,  134;  its  theatres,  134-137; 
dogs  of,  137  ;  typical  coins,  138 ;  famous 
citizens,  139  ;  views  from  the  hills, 
140 

Gadarenes,  country  of  the,  63,  64 
Galilean  Bethlehem,  The,  256 
Galilee,  Lake  of,  first  glimpse  of,  59-60, 
117;  the  fishing-nets,  117;  varieties  of 
fish  in,  118,119;  Tristram  on  the  fertility 
of  its  waters,  119;  birds  and  insects, 
120 

Gate  Beautiful,  The,  234 
Gazelles,  14 1 

Gennesaret,  72 ;  its  fig-tree,  76 ;  old 
Roman  aqueduct,  77  ;  famous  for  its 
fruits,  1 16  ;  fire-flies,  near,  157 
Gennesaret,  jPlain  of,  113,  275  et  seq.  ; 
Josephus  on,  275;  springs  which  water, 
276  et  seq. ;  Tristram  on,  275  ;  irriga¬ 
tion  of,  276  et  seq. 

Gergasa  (orGerasa),  62  ;  discrepancies  in 
the  Synoptic  Gospels  of  the  demoniac 
and  the  swine,  63-65  ;  the  tombs,  66  ; 
Dr.  Thomson’s  account,  66,  67 
Gerizim,  Mount,  22,  23,  26,  28  ;  annual 
sacrifice  of  the  Passover  lamb,  34 ; 
51  sacrificial  rock  on,  304  ( note ). 

German  Catholic  hospice,  80,  117 
Gethsemane,  Garden  of,  the  traditional, 
10,  185;  the  olive  trees  in,  185-186; 
Empress  Helena  and,  186  ;  Author’s 
impressions,  186 ;  derivation  of  name, 
187 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


308 

Gibeah  of  Benjamin  ( cf.  Tell-el-Ful) 
Gideon’s  Fountain,  43 
Gihon,  Watercourse  and  Pool,  204  ; 
valley  of,  245 

Gilboa,  Mount,  42  ;  the  Dead  Well,  42 
Goats,  hair  of,  used  for  tent-making,  250 
Golden  Gate,  The,  234 ;  probably  the 
point  at  which  Jesus  entered  Jerusalem 
on  Palm  Sunday,  235 
Golgotha,  reputed  site,  162 ;  Sir  Chas. 

Wilson  on,  163  {note) 

Good  Samaritan,  The  Khan  of  the,  168 
Gordon’s  Calvary  and  Sepulchre,  t6i 
Grapes  of  Eshcol,  197 
“  Great  Plain,”  The,  39,  40 
Greek  Church,  Jaffa,  2 
Greek  Easter  at  Jerusalem,  237 
Guerin,  48 

Hadrian,  Emperor,  186 
Haramat  Jerusalem,  217,220  ;  at  Hebron, 
197;  the  traditional  Cave  of  Mach- 
pelah,  197 

Haram  esh-Sherif,  224  {cf.  Temple,  The) 
Hasbani  River,  94 ;  the  head  waters  of 
the  Jordan,  94  ;  Josephus  on,  95  {note) 
{cf.  Jordan,  The) 

Hawthorn,  The,  96 
Hebrews  (see  Jews) 

Hebron,  197 ;  vineyards  of,  197  ;  the 
“King’s  Pool,”  198,  200;  the  reputed 
burial  place  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  199  ;  Wailing-place  of  the  Jews 
at,  200;  Abraham’s  mosque,  200;  a 
Mohammedan  funeral,  200  ;  an  adven¬ 
ture  in  a  Jewish  hostel,  200  ;  Abraham’s 
terebinth,  196,  201 

Helena,  Empress,  and  her  visit  to  Jeru¬ 
salem,  186 

Hermon, Mount,  22,98, 101  et  seq. :  race  and 
religion, 98;  dress, 101;  ploughing  on, 104 
Herod  the  Great,  temple  of  (Jerusalem), 
222,  223,  300;  the  external  masonry  of, 
301;  the  sanctuary,  302;  the  ground  plan 
of,302;  the  Sacred  Rock, 303;  hippodrome 
of,  37;  his  building  of  Jericho,  170; 
the  springs  of  Callirhoe,  170 ;  his 
loathsome  death,  170  ;  the  balsam 
groves,  170;  and  Solomon’s  Pools,  196; 
towers  of,  203-4  ;  palace  of — probably 
Pilate’s  Praetorium,  205  ;  bridge  of,  221 
{cf.  Appendix  F) 

Herod  the  Great,  temple  at  Samaria,  35 
Hezekiah's  Pool,  203,  209-21 1 
Hiel  of  Bethel,  the  city  of,  181 
Holy  Fire  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  237-240 
Hollyhocks,  141, 151 
Honey,  198 

Horses,  Syrian,  9  ;  Dr.  Merrill  on,  9 
Hftleh,  Lake  of,  88  ;  Plain  of,  87,  109  ; 
papyrus  culture,  90 ;  conformation  of 
children,  91  ;  frogs  in  marshes,  91  ; 
Jewish  colony,  112 


Hunin,  Crusaders’  castle  at,  93 

Huwara,  22,  23 

Hyrcanus  destroys  Samaria,  35 

Ibzan  the  Bethlehemite,  264 
Invention  of  the  Cross,  186 
Iris,  The,  53,  131 

Irrigation  of  Gennesaret  (see  Appendix  D) 
„  the  Holy  Land  (^Aqueducts, 
Fountains,  Water  Supply) 
Isaac  said  to  have  been  buried  at  Hebron, 
199 

Ishbosheth,  198 
Jackals,  7, 62 

Jacob,  reputed  place  of  burial,  199 
Jacob’s  Ladder,  16 
Jacob’s  Well,  23,  25-28,  159 
Jaffa,  Author’s  arrival  at,  1  ;  first  impres¬ 
sions,  2  ;  view  from  the  minaret  of  the 
Greek  church,  2  ;  tomb  of  Dorcas,  2  ; 
house  of  Simon  the  Tanner,  2  ;  the 
Maccabcean  treachery,  3  ;  history  of,  3  ; 
the  great  fish  of  Joppa,  4  ;  Joppa  and 
the  sea-monsters,  4,  5  (note) ;  the  orange 
groves  of,  6 
Jaffa  gate,  224 

Jannaeus,  King  Alexander,  131 ;  a  strange 
battle,  131  ;  Absalom’s  Pillar,  probably 
the  tomb  of  Jannaeus,  131  (note) 

Jenin  (see  En-Gannim) 

Jeremiah’s  Grotto,  9,  161  ;  the  prophet’s 
allusion  to  the  stork,  36 
Jericho,  distance  from  Jerusalem,  166  ; 
Plain  of,  169-170 ;  its  present  appear¬ 
ance,  170;  “the  City  of  Palms,”  170; 
built  by  Herod  the  Great,  170 ;  death 
of  Herod,  170  ;  no  fewer  than  four 
Jerichos,  171  ;  Eriha,  171 ;  the  Jordan, 
174  ;  Fountain  of  Elisha  and  the  ancient 
Jericho,  180,  181 ;  a  pilgrimage  to  Jeru¬ 
salem,  183-184 

Jerome,  St.,  cell  of,  at  Bethlehem,  194 
Jerusalem,  scene  in,  7 ;  arrival  at,  7  ; 
“  Zion,”  8;  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepul¬ 
chre,  8,  237  ;  view  of  Mount  of  Olives 
and  Moab,  8  ;  the  Latin  Easter  at,  161; 
the  sepulchre  adjoining  ‘  ‘Gordon’s  ”  Cal¬ 
vary,  161 ;  Golgotha,  reputed  site,  162- 
163 ;  visit  to  the  Tomb,  164  ;  water 
supply  of,  202;  Hezekiah’s  Pool,  203, 
209  et  seq. ;  Tower  of  David,  203-204  ; 
swimming  pools  of,  204 ;  Via  Dolorosa, 
204-205  ;  Church  of  St.  Anne,  208  ; 
the  wailing  -  place  of  the  Jews  at, 

217  ;  scene  at  the  wailing-place,  217- 

218  ;  liturgy  used,  218-219  ;  Haram 
walls,  217-220;  Herod’s  bridge,  221  ; 
the  Temple  in  Our  Lord’s  time,  221- 
223  ;  Eastertide  at,  224-240  ;  Mosque 
of  Omar,  225  (cf.  Dome  of  the  Rock) ; 
Mosque  of  Aksa,  225,  231  ;  Golden 
Gate,  234 ;  cisterns  and  water  supply, 
235-236  (cf.  also,  Appendix  F);  Conder’s 


INDEX 


3°9 


Sepulchre,  241-242;  Virgin’s  Well,  242 
et  seq.  ;  the  streets  of,  249  et  seq. 

Jesus,  birthplace  of,  256,  257;  disputed 
sites,  256  et  seq. ;  the  Gospels  of  St.  Matt, 
and  St.  Luke  concerning,  257  et  seq.  ; 
Micah’s  prophecy,  261  ;  Rabbinic  writ¬ 
ings  concerning,  261-262 ;  St.  Matthew’s 
Gospel,  263  (cf.,  also,  Bethlehem,  Naza¬ 
reth,  Nazareth  Question — Appendix  A) 
Jewish  farm  colonies,  112;  the  Zionist 
movement,  112 

Jews,  in  Safed,  84,  85 ;  superstitions  of, 
84,  125  ;  laws  regarding  tattooing,  103  ; 
banished  from  Jerusalem,  218 
Jews’  wailing-place  at  Hebron,  200  ;  at 
Jerusalem,  217;  scene  at,  217-218; 
liturgy  used,  218-219  ;  masonry  of,  219- 
220 

Jezebel,  her  death,  43 
Jezreel,  41,  42  ;  fountain  of,  42  ;  Plain  of, 
153-154  I  view  from,  153 
Job  :  reference  to  papyrus,  90  ;  reference 
to  fish  spears,  in 
Joel’s  reference  to  locusts,  124 
John,  St.,  baptisms  in  the  Jordan,  177-178 
Jonah,  and  the  great  fish  of  Joppa,  4 
Joppa  ( see  Jaffa) 

Jordan,  The,  71  ;  headwaters  of,  94,  95, 
97  {see,  also,  Banyias,  Hasbani  River) 
Joseph’s  Pit,  38,  82  (and  note),  113 
Joseph’s  Well,  Cairo,  82  {note) 

Josephus  on — joppa,  4  ;  the  Grotto  of  Pan, 
106  ;  the  census  of  Judaea  and  Galilee, 
259-260 ;  and  Hezekiah’s  Pool,  203  ; 
the  Plain  of  Gennesaret,  275 
Joshua  and  the  city  of  Hiel,  18 1  ;  and  the 
crossing  of  the  Israelites,  181-182 
Josiah  destroys  the  Temple  at  Bethel,  17 
Jotham’s  parable,  34 
Judaea,  Census  in,  259  et  seq. 

Karn  Hattin,  57  and  note 
Kedesh  (Khan  Kadish),  129 
Kefr  Kenna  ( see  Cana  of  Galilee) 

Kerak,  129  ;  probably  the  Taricheae  of 
Josephus,  129  ;  its  industries,  129 
Kerazeh  {see  Chorazin) 

Kersa  (see  Gergasa) 

Khan  Jubb  Yusuf,  82,  113 
Khan  Kadish,  129 

Kh&n  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  The,  168 
Khan  Minyeh,  71,  76,  113;  a  famous 
road,  113;  the  reputed  Capernaum, 
1 14  ;  Author’s  impressions,  114-116 
Khurbet  Minyeh,  120 
Kidron,  Valley  of,  10 
Kingfishers,  120 

King’s  Pool,  213  {cf.  Siloam,  Pool  of) 
Laish  (cf.  Dan) 

Lazarus,  Village  of,  246  ;  tomb  of,  246 
Lebonah,  22,  159 

Leddan,  River,  94  ;  regarded  by  the 
ancients  as  the  source  of  the  Jordan,  95 


“  Lilies  of  the  field,”  60  (and  note) 
Locusts,  a  swarm  of,  123,  124  ;  Biblical 
references,  123,  124 
Lupines,  a  mass  of,  44,  70 
Lydda,  Olive  plantations  of,  7 

Maccab/EUS,  Judas,  3 
Maccabaeus,  Simon,  226 
Maccabees,  Palace  of,  221 
Machpelah,  Cave  of,  197,  199 ;  Dean 
Stanley  on,  199 

Magdala,  75;  its  present  appearance,  76 
Magi,  The  well  of,  188 
Maimonides,  128 

Makhada,  152  ;  Colonel  Conder  and,  152 
Makhnah,  Plain  of,  23 
Mamre,  Abraham’s  Terebinth  at,  196, 
197,  201 

Marble  fountain.  The,  109 
Marriage  ceremony,  A  curious,  125 
Marriage  procession,  A  Mahommedan, 
83,  84 

Mar  Saba,  Monastery  of,  184 
Martha  and  Mary,  House  of,  246,  248 
Mats  made  from  papyrus,  89 
Meir,  Rabbi,  and  his  tomb,  128 
Mejdel  (cf.  Magdala) 

Mejdel  esh-Shems  (Mejdel  of  Damascus), 
98  ;  its  inhabitants  and  religion,  98 
Mellaha,  or  Place  of  Salt,  130  (note) 
Menadireh,  The  (cf.  Yarmuk,  The) 
Merom,  Waters  of,  88 
Mesadiyeh  (see  Bethsaida) 

Mesharif,  10 
Mesopotamia,  190 

Messiah,  The,  Rabbinic  writers  on  the 
birthplace  of,  261  et  seq. 

Micah  prophesies  birth  of  Jesus,  261,  262 
Mimosa,  157,  174 
Mint  and  Cummin,  251 
Minyeh,  72,76,77  (cf,  also,  Appendix  D) 
Mkes,  132,  134 
Moab,  Mountain  of,  169 
Modem,  birthplace  of  the  Maccabean 
revolt,  7 

Mohammed  and  the  Sacred  Rock,  227: 

his  “  night  journey  to  heaven,”  231 
Mohammedan  fetish  worship,  132,  133 
(and  note),  235  (cf.  Trees,  rags  and 
shreds  on) 

Mohammedan  burial-place,  A,  70 
Mohammedan  funeral,  A,  200 
Mohammedan  settlement  in  Safed,  84 
Mohammedan  wedding,  A,  83,  84 
Mohammedan  well,  An  old,  142 
Money-changers,  249 
Moses,  Tomb  of,  184 
Mosque  El  Aksa,  225,  231 
Mosque  of  the  Forty,  The,  19  ;  the  re¬ 
puted  site  of  the  Tabernacle,  20 
Mosque  of  Omar,  225,231 
Mount  of  Beatitudes,  57 
Mount  of  Olives,  8,  10,  60,  167,  185, 
246-248 


3io 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Mount  of  Temptation,  171 
Mount  Gilboa,  42 

Mount  of  Transfiguration,  The  reputed, 
59 

Muezzin,  call  to  prayer,  40 

NablFs,  22,  28;  bazaars  of,  29;  the 
Samaritan  synagogue,  29,  31  ;  the  high- 
priest  of,  29  :  Samaritan  dress,  30  ;  the 
robes  of  the  high-priest,  30,  31 ;  the 
holy  scrolls,  31,  32 ;  view  of,  from 
Gerizim,  33,  34 
Naboth’s  vineyard,  42 
Nain,  43  ;  the  “unfenced  burial-place” 
mentioned  by  Edersheim,  43 ;  the 
tombs  of,  44  ;  the  widow  of,  44 
Narcissus,  The,  probable  identity  with 
the  Rose  of  Sharon,  6 
Nargileh,  The,  33 

Nazareth,  44  :  present  appearance  of,  45  ; 
the  question  of  the  true  birthplace  of 
Jesus,  50,  255  et  seq. ;  a  Sunday  in,  50  ; 
the  Greek  church  at,  50  ;  the  Rock  of 
Precipitation,  51 ;  St.  Mary’s  Well,  54  ; 
synonymous  with  Galilee,  255,  256  ;  the 
controversy  concerning,  255-257  (Ap¬ 
pendix  A) 

Nob,  site  of,  13 

Ox\KS,  Wild,  47 

Oleanders,  75,  76,  141 

Olives,  Mount  of,  8,  10,  185,  246-248 ; 

slaughter-houses  on,  167 
Olive-trees,  7,  19,  33,  38  ;  in  the  Garden 
of  Gethsemane,  185 

Omar,  Mosque  of,  225,  227-231  O7. 

Mosque  el-Aksa) 

Omri,  City  of,  35 
Ophel,  204,  209,  214,  221 
Orange-trees  at  Hebron,  198 
Orchards  of  Joppa,  6 

Palestine,  Battle-ground  of  (cf.  Es- 
draelon,  Plain  of) 

Palestine,  climate  of,  184 
Palestine  dress,  102,  103 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  The,  17,  18, 
202  ( note ),  280,  281,  283,  285,  289,  290, 
292,  294,  296,  301  et  seq. 

Palestine  flora  (see  Flora) 

Palestine,  tattooing  in,  103 
Palm-trees  of  Hebron,  198;  of  Jericho,  170 
Pan,  Cave  of,  at  B&niyas,  97 
Pan,  Grotto  of,  97,  105,  106  ;  Josephus 
on,  106;  Professor  Smith  on,  106 
Papyrus,  77,  90  ;  mats,  89  ;  huts,  89,  90  ; 

a  jungle  of,  90  ;  Job’s  reference  to,  90 
Passports,  11,  12 

Patriarch’s  Pool,  The,  203;  Josephus 
on,  203 

Paula  builds  the  monastery  at  Bethlehem, 
194 

Pella,  143 ;  Christian  traditions,  143 ; 
the  refuge  for  the  “  Brethren  ”  of  Jeru¬ 


salem,  145,  146, 149;  referred  to  in  the 
Apocalypse,  146  ;  the  terraces  of,  148 
(cf.  Faln'l) 

Pharaoh’s  hen,  104 

Pharpar,  River,  100 

Pillars,  16,  17,  140 

Pipes  of  reed,  89  ;  double  pipes,  92 

Ploughing  at  Safed,  87  ;  on  Hermon,  104 

Ploughs  in  Palestine,  19,41 

Polish  Jews,  85 

Polygamy  practised  by  Jews,  85 
Pomegranates  of  Bethany,  247  ;  of  Ti¬ 
berias,  125,  126 

Pool  of  Hezekiah,  203,  209-21 1  ;  of 
Siloam,  209,  213;  of  St.  Anne,  208, 
209 

Pools  of  Bethesda  ( see  Appendix  E)  ;  of 
Hebron,  198;  of  Solomon,  195,  198; 
springs  near,  supply  Jerusalem,  202 
Poplars,  101 

Potter,  A,  and  his  wheel,  250 
Prnetorium,  The,  205 
Publican,  A,  250 

Quirinus,  259 

Rachel,  Grave  of,  13,  14 
“  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,”  190 
Rachel’s  Tomb,  190,  191  ;  its  topo¬ 
graphical  interest,  190,  191  ;  the  prob¬ 
able  tomb  of  Archelaus,  191 
Rain-storms,  184  ;  Biblical  references  to, 
184 

Raisins,  197 

Ramah,  Tower  at,  190, 191 
Ratnleh,  Tower  of,  7 
Ramsay,  Dr.,  44  (note) 

Rice-plant,  The,  90 
Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  3 
Road-making  by  Turkish  soldiers,  156 
Robinson's  Arch,  221  ;  Warren’s  dis¬ 
coveries,  221 
Robbers’  caves,  122 
Rock  of  Precipitation,  The,  51 
Rose  of  Sharon,  6 

Rothschild,  Baron,  and  the  Zionist 
movement,  112 


Sacred  Rock,  The,  Moslem  tradition 
concerning,  227  ;  a  visit  to,  229-230  ;  the 
legend  of  Mahommed,  231 
Sacred  shreds,  53,  92,  96,  132,  133  (and 
note),  235 

Safed,  82-83  I  hills  of,  83  ;  a  wedding  pro¬ 
cession,  83;  Mohammedans  and  Jews 
of,  84,  85  ;  Jewish  belief  regarding  the 
Messiah,  84,  85  ;  the  Jewish  settlement 
in,  described,  85  ;  Dr.  Thomson  on,  85 ; 
the  wadis  around 
St.  Anne,  Pool  of,  208-209,  298 
St.  Mary’s  Fount,  245 
St.  Mary’s  Well,  5  (note),  54,  209,  212,  213 
>1  11  n  (Naz. ),  54 

Sakhra  (fee  Dome  of  the  Rock) 


INDEX 


3ii 


Salim,  159,  178 

Samaria  (now  called  Sebastiyeh),  35 ; 
Herod’s  temple,  35  ;  a  flight  of  storks, 
36  ;  Herod’s  hippodrome  and  the  Street 
of  Columns,  37  ;  from  Bethlehem,  48 
Samaritan,  The  Good,  The  Khan  of,  168 
Samaritans  :  Synagogue  and  ancient 
manuscripts  at  Nablus,  29,  31 ;  their 
dress,  30;  annual  sacrifice  of  lamb  at 
Gerizim,  34 
Samson’s  cave,  7 
Saul’s  last  battle,  42 
Scopus,  Mount,  headquarters  of  Titus, 
10 ;  view  from,  10 

Scythopolis,  probable  origin  of  the  name, 
154  {note)  (cf  Beisan) 

Sebastiyeh  {see  Samaria) 

Seilun,  the  ancient  Shiloh  ( q.v . ) 
Sephardim  Jews  as  polygamists,  85 
Sepulcures,  whitening  the,  74 
Serpent  stone,  245 
Serpent’s  Well,  The,  245 
Shafat,  13 

Sharon,  Plain  of,  6  ;  Rose  of,  6 
Shechem  ( see  Nablus) 

Shiloh,  19  ;  “The  Mosque  of  the  Forty,” 
19;  Well  of,  20;  “waters’’  of,  21 
Shrines,  53  ;  offerings  of,  53,  132,  133 
(and  note) 

Shushan  Gate,  235 
Silk-weaving,  250 

Siloam,  Pool  of,  209,  213-216;  Biblical 
reference,  209;  an  old  inscription,  210; 
strange  customs  of  the  villagers,  211; 
local  reasons  for  the  lack  of  water,  2x1  ; 
the  true  cause  of  the  spring’s  failure, 
212  ;  the  Feast  of  the  Tabernacles,  214; 
the  “troubling”  of  the  water,  215,244 
(see  also  Appendix  E) 

Siloam  as  the  true  Bethesda,  215 
Silwan,  213,  244,  245 
Simon  the  Tanner,  House  of,  2 
Sinjil,  19,  159,  160  ;  a  corruption  of  St. 
Giles,  19,  160  {note) 

Slaughter-house  at  the  foot  of  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  167 
Snow  in  Palestine,  185 
Soap-factory,  A,  250 
Sodom,  Valley  of,  171 
Solomon,  Pools  of,  195,  198;  water  supply 
of  Jerusalem  derived  from  near-by 
springs,  202 

Solomon’s  stables,  233;  used  by  the 
Knights  Templars,  233 
Solomon’s  Temple  (see  Appendix  F) 
Spring  of  the  Mother  of  Steps,  The,  209 
Springs,  in  Jerusalem,  209  et  seq.(cf  Beth¬ 
esda  Question — Appendix  C) 

Stanley,  Dean,  on— the  house  of  Simon 
the  Tanner,  2  ;  the  mountains  of  Jeru¬ 
salem,  8;  Jacob’s  Ladder,  16;  the  Greek 
Easter,  184 

Stones,  circles  of,  at  Bethel,  17,  18 
Storax,  The,  96 


Storks,  A  flight  of,  36 
Sulem,  43 

Sychar,  26,  27,  28, 159  ;  Fountain  and  Plain 
of.  J59 

Tabigha  stream,  The,  77,  78;  Sanday 
and  Thomson  on,  78  (note)-,  supplied 
to  the  Franciscan  monks  at  Tell  Hurn, 
80  ( cf.  Appendix  D) 

Tabor  and  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration, 
59 

Tanner,  A  typical,  249,  250 
Tanneries  of  Capernaum,  78  {note) 
Tarichese,  129,  130  ;  Vespasian’s  siege  of, 
130 

Tattooing,  103  ;  Jewish  law  regarding, 
io3 

Tax-gatherer,  A  Mohammedan,  250 
'Pell- Dothan,  37 

Tell  Hum,  71  ;  the  aqueduct  controversy, 
77  ;  a  reputed  site  of  Capernaum,  78 
(cf  Capernaum  and  Appendix  D) 
Tell-Nimrin  (the  reputed  site  of  Beth- 
abara),  173,  175 
Tel  el-Ful,  13,  14,  15 
Tell-el-Kadi,  94,  95 

Temple,  The :  walls  of,  220-223 ;  its 
appearance  in  the  days  of  Christ,  221- 
223 ;  the  wailing-place,  217 ;  Robin¬ 
son’s  Arch,  221  ;  Easter-Eve  celebra¬ 
tions,  224  ;  Dome  of  the  Rock,  225, 
227-23  t  ;  controversy  as  to  its  site, 
230;  the  Double  Gate,  232;  Triple 
Gate,  233-4;  Golden  Gate,  234; 
votive  gifts,  235  ;  cisterns,  235,  236  (cf. 
Jerusalem  and  Appendix  F) 

Temple  of  Herod,  300  et  seq.  {cf.  Appen¬ 
dix  F) 

Temple  of  Solomon  (cf.  Appendix  F) 
Temptation,  Mount  of,  171 
Tent-making,  250 
Terebinth  of  Abraham,  196,  201 
Tezkereh  (see  Passports) 

Thebez,  157  ;  linked  with  Shechem,  158  ; 

fertility  of  the  soil,  158  (note) 

Thistles,  151 
Thorns,  157 

Thomson,  Dr.,  on  Bethsaida,  68  ;  Safed, 

,.85 

I  horns,  Mimosa  may  possibly  be  identi¬ 
fied  with,  157  (cf.  Flora) 

Tiberias,  town  of,  60 ;  dogs  of,  62,  72  ; 
whitening  the  sepulchres,  74  ;  a  swarm 
of  locusts,  123,  124  ;  a  visit  to  the 
mission  hospital,  124 ;  superstitions, 
125  ;  the  ancient  town  built  by  Herod 
Antipas,  126;  ceremonial  ablutions,  126; 
tombs,  128 

Tiberias,  Lake  of,  59 ;  identification  ot 
Kersa  with  ancient  Gergasa,  63  et  seq. 
Titus,  siege  of  Jerusalem,  186;  cutting 
down  trees,  186 

Tomb  of  Moses,  184  ;  Moslem  error  con 
cerning,  184 


312 


TENT  AND  TESTAMENT 


Tomb  of  Rachel,  190,  191 ;  its  topo¬ 
graphical  interest,  190,  191 ;  the  prob¬ 
able  tomb  of  Archelaus,  191 
Tombs  of  the  Kings,  near  Jerusalem,  165; 

the  rolling  stone,  164,  165 
Tombs  at  Tiberias,  128 
Tower  of  David  at  Jerusalem,  203 
Towers  in  vineyards,  14,  189 
Transfiguration,  Mount  of,  59 
Trees  of  Jerusalem  cut  down  by  Titus, 
186 

Trees,  rags,  &c.,  on,  as  votive  offerings, 
53-  92>  96-  *32,  133  (and  note ),  235 
Tristram,  Canon,  on  the  Rose  of  Sharon, 
6  ;  on  the  birds  of  prey  of  the  East, 
88  ;  on  the  frogs  of  the  Holy  Land,  92  ; 
on  the  fish  of  the  Jordan  Valley,  118 ; 
on  the  fertility  of  the  waters  of  Galilee, 
119,  120;  on  locusts,  124;  on  the 
Capernaum  Question  (Appendix  D) 
Tyropceon  Valley,  The,  213,  221,  222 
Tubas  ( see  Thebes) 

Turkish  barracks  at  Antonia,  205,  225 
Turkish  rule,  Hardships  of,  150,  151,  179 


Unemployed,  Jewish,  249 


Valley  of  Doves,  The,  122;  robbers’ 
caves,  122 

Valley  of  the  Fig-trees,  The,  19 
Valley  of  the  Jordan,  8,  94  et  seq.  (see,  also, 
Hasbani  River) 

Valley  of  the  Robbers,  The,  19 
Veils,  189 

Via  Dolorosa,  204,  205 

Via  Maris,  The,  113 

Vineyards,  14,  102,  189;  towers  in,  189 

Virgin’s  Fount,  The  (see  St.  Mary’s  Well) 


Virgin’s  Well,  The,  209  ;  an  adventure  at, 
241-244 

Vultures,  88  (note),  104, 167,  246 

Wadi-Nimrin,  178;  an  example  in  the 
art  of  misgovernment,  179 
Wadi  Ruhaibeh  (the  probable  Brook  of 
Cherith),  168 

Wadi  el-Kelt,  168  ;  its  caves,  168 ;  Cheyne 
and  Tristram  on,  168  monastery  at, 
169 

Wadi  Hamam,  122 

Wailing-place  of  the  Jews  at  Hebron,  200; 

at  Jerusalem,  217 
Water-carriers,  Women,  38 
Watercourses  and  Pools  of  Jerusalem, 
202  et  seq.  (cf.  Appendix  E) 
Water-supply  at  Jerusalem,  202  et  seq.  ; 
235-236 

“  Way  of  the  Sea,”  The,  113 
Wedding  procession  atSafed,  83-84 
Weli,  an  old  Mahommedan,  142 
Well  of  Jacob,  23,  25,  28  ;  of  Shiloh,  20- 
21  ;  of  Askar,  27 
Well  of  Shiloh,  20 
Well  of  the  Magi,  The,  188 
Wilson,  Sir  Charles,  and  Bethel,  17;  on 
Calvary  and  Sepulchre,  161  (note),  163 
(note) 

Wine  of  Hebron,  197 
Yafa  (see  Jaffa) 

Yarmfik,  The,  130  ;  a  strange  battle,  131 

ZACCHiEUS,  House  ot,  17 1-2  ;  probably 
a  Crusaders’  tower,  171 
Zeboim,  Valley  of,  169 
Zerin  (see  Jezreel) 

“Zion,”  8 
Zoheleth,  244,245 


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